The Tides of Fate: Remnant Redone
by werewolf36
Summary: Fate had always been a cruel mistress to those from Thedas. From Darkspawn, to Demons, Ancient Tevinter Magisters, and constant warfare, it seemed like she had it in for the people of this world. Especially for the heroes that seem to rise always in the nick of time to save everyone. If only fate would let them have a happy ending, instead of throwing them into other worlds.
1. The Calm Before the Storm

**Authors Note: Hey guys, as I promised I am rewriting this story. I hope that you all actually will enjoy this reboot, and let me know what you think. Especially because I'm hoping to do better this time around and make the most of this.**

 **To get some things straight though, you all should know that the main character will be different this time around. This means a different name, different personal history with family, relationships, and amount of skill. What I mean by skill, is that unlike with Sebastian, the new main character isn't going to be so incredibly OP that he can take on a horde of Grimm in the Emerald forest for hours of end. No, instead this main character is going to have a harder time in the RWBY-verse.**

 **The reason that Sebastian was OP? Well, at the time I had been doing a sort of 'no deaths' run through on Nightmare. That meant that outside of the opening of the game, the main character couldn't 'die'. If he did, I had 10 save reloads, and when those were used up, I had to stop that play through. Those same rules applied to the companions, in that if they were defeated then they would be considered 'crippled' and couldn't be in the party anymore. It made the entire game more intense than usual, especially the Dragon fights; those became the stuff of my nightmares. Needless to say, by the end of the game virtually none of my companions survived. I recommend it for any of you that are masochistic or want a good challenge.**

 **Any, I've rambled on enough. Let me know what you guys think of the new story!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I own neither Dragon Age or RWBY. They each belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

 **Skyhold, Ferelden**

"Based on the reports I've been getting, it's safe to assume that the remnants of the Venatori and Red Templars have barricaded themselves inside the Elven ruins in the area." Cullen told the others gathered in the War room.

"What do we know about these ruins?" Leliana asked him. The war table in front of them currently held small figurines, red and black to feature the Venatori and Red Templars, while the gold and white pieces represented the inquisition forces.

"Not much. All that my scouts have been able to tell me is that it will be nearly impossible to take without suffering heavy casualties. Even then, it's entirely possible that they may be able to repel our assault." Cullen replied as he stared intently at the board.

"Perhaps we could contact the local lord of the lands? If we could bolster our forces with his and bring siege equipment, we would have better chances of breaching their walls." Josephine informed them.

"Perhaps less straight forward tactics will work; the chances are high that these ruins have tunnels underneath them that we could use, or secret packages that could lead us directly inside of it. All it would take is a little scouting and a guide or two that know the area." Leliana moved a few chess-like pieces forward resembling panthers.

Cullen sighed in frustration. "In the time it takes us to scout the area, they will likely dig themselves in even more, or move on from the area. We need to move now and commit to a full scale siege."

"Maybe so, but sieging old elven ruins would do no one any good. Think of all the artifacts or records within it that could be ruined." Leliana argued.

"Perhaps we could request the aid of the Dalish in the area? They have had somewhat positive relations with the local villages, and if we promised them anything held within the ruins of elven origin, then I'm sure they would be willing to lend us their aid in finding a passage way or assaulting the ruins." Josephine offered.

The three of them all turned their attention the Inquisitor, who had been mostly quiet ever since they had all met.

After a few more moments, the Inquisitor hummed and began moving some pieces around the table. "Josephine, contact the noble lord in the area and the Dalish; Either one of them will be a big help in the coming siege. Leliana, have your agents search the area as well for any secret passages. Cullen, send word to our forces in the area to prepare for the siege."

"I'll send word right away." Cullen replied, while Josephine and Leliana nodded their heads in agreement.

* * *

The Inquisitor stared down at everyone from his balcony. Everyone was milling about their daily business as though nothing was going on in the world that could threaten them; the stable hands and servants didn't worry about a thing as they worked; the merchants did business freely and with a smile on their face as they sold things at unfair prices; even the soldiers practiced their drills and training without any real worry.

Perhaps that was their arrogance of the power of the inquisition or just plain obliviousness; either way, they'd be right. The final cataclysmic battle had been fought nearly a year ago to the day, and since then the inquisition had only grown more powerful and stopped threats that had the potential to be just as big.

This didn't mean the upcoming battle would be easy. Despite the fact that the upcoming battle wouldn't be the toughest he'd ever fought, far from it actually, facing an unknown amount of Venatori and Red Templars that had banded together and were cornered was not something to take lightly.

"Didn't expect to find you looking so serious."

The inquisitor glanced over his shoulder at the sound of the voice. "Hey Varric. What're you doing here?"

"I came up here to see what our glorious leader was doing of course. I've gotta say, I half expected you to be celebrating and drinking when I walked in, not staring down at everyone below with that look on your face."

The inquisitor chuckled. "Before the battle has even started? No, I'm not one to do that. Besides, we already celebrated our victory a long time ago. At this point, it'll just be one more battle for us to fight and win."

"Maybe so, but these are likely the last of what used to be our greatest enemies. It's only right that we celebrate our victory over them now that we have them penned in." Varric patted the Inquisitors back. "Come on down to the tavern later tonight. The rest of us all plan on a small celebration to commemorate the occasion."

As Varric left the Inquisitor could only stare at the mountains in the distance. The view he got every night was beautiful, even more so when the sun was setting or rising. But he enjoyed gazing out at it in the middle of the day even more so. While some would consider it dull, he enjoyed it for one simple reason: it was normal. Nothing special happening around them, nothing special about them, just plain old mountains that managed to reach the heights that they did naturally.

The Inquisitor sighed. Sometimes he wished he was like those mountains, like Hawk and the Hero of Ferelden. The former was as plain as could be and reached his position based on pure skill with his magic. The latter meanwhile was incredibly skilled and only had his status as a Grey Warden separating him from everyone else, even then only earning it through his skill. Both achieved their positions based on pure skill or strength and were legends even now.

But the Inquisitor? As he kept telling everybody, he wasn't chosen for anything or special at all; as far as he knew, anyone that was at the Conclave could have stumbled upon what he did and gain the curse he now had on his hand, which was the only reason he had even survived and in turn gained leadership of the Inquisition.

Still, at least it was him and not some warmongering psychopath who'd have gone down the same path as Corypheus, or someone who'd have made the Inquisition into a glorified mercenary company.

Looking back at his desk, the Inquisitor sighed when he saw the amount of paperwork he had on it but sat down anyway. At least if he got it done now he wouldn't have to worry about it later.

* * *

The Inquisitor could hear the laughter and shouts from outside the door of the tavern. It was late now, everyone had mostly retired for the night except for the few guards patrolling the walls. Sighing, the Inquisitor reach for the door handle.

Before he could grasp it however, the door opened, and a few of the serving girls walked out and bumped into him.

"Sorry there sir," the girl hiccupped and giggled to herself, "me and my friend here were just leaving." She began to walked away but her friend pulled on her arm.

"Wait, he's kind of hot." The girls friend giggled to herself and leaned up against him. He could smell the alcohol in her breath clear as day, and the way she wobbled just slightly gave away the fact that she was drunk.

The original girl just giggled some more and pulled her friend along, laughing as the two of them went on their way. Chuckling to himself and shaking his head, he walked into the tavern.

Shutting the door behind him he was greeted by the sight of Iron Bull and Sera having a drinking contest.

"Come on Bull, I put a lot of money on you!" People were gathered around the two of them cheering them both on. From the looks of it, both of them were dead even, though he had the feeling that this had just started.

The Inquisitor walked up to a pillar and leaned against it to watch the contest unfold. A few more rounds a drinks went by and by then it was fairly obvious who the winner between the two of them would be.

Sera dropped her mug and fell backwards onto the wooden floor beneath their feet. An onset of joyous cheering or exasperated groans resounded throughout the tavern, followed by the sound of coin being slammed on a table or taken off of it.

As everyone went back to what they were doing, Varric finally noticed he was here.

"Inquisitor! Good to see you decided to drop by." Varric walked over and handed him a mug of something as everyone else said their greetings, ranging from people raising their mugs to outright bowing down to him.

"Well I couldn't miss this now could I, Varric?" The inquisitor chuckled and took a sip of whatever was in the mug. Varric then led him over to a table near the bar. "So, Inquisitor, how's it feel?"

"How's what feel?"

"You know, the fact that soon you'll have completely defeated Corypheus and crushed his followers. Me? I'll be absolutely thrilled that I can finally have a good ending to my book that doesn't leave so many unanswered questions about them."

"Do you even have a name for your book yet?"

"Not quiet yet. Though the title 'This Shit is Weird' is seriously being considered at this point." Varric replied with chuckle.

"How about tales of the Inquisition?" The inquisitor suggested.

"That would be a good name, if it weren't for the fact that I'm also writing a book called 'Tales of the Inquisitions Agents'; you know, to honor those that went where we couldn't and made things easier for us." Varric told him.

The Inquisitor hummed. "Well then if that's the case, 'This Shit is Weird' is the best title to call our particular story."

Varric laughed. "Well then it's settled. Anyway Inquisitor, I won't take up anymore of your time, so go enjoy yourself."

The Inquisitor took another sip of his mug and looked around. When he saw that Sera was back up and drinking, he walked over to her. "You alright Sera? That looked like you took a pretty hard fall."

Sera began laughing. "Sir Lordybloomers, good to see you out here!" Sera spoke in such slurred and drunken speech that it was a wonder she was ale to even hold up that mug. All the Inquisitor could do was stare at Sera. "I'm fine, ya? No reason to get all pissy."

"Alright Sera, just try not to drink yourself into a coma." All the Inquisitor received in response was 'beh'.

"Hey, Boss, over here." The Inquisitor turned around and saw Iron Bull sitting at the bar.

"Hey Bull."

"So, final fight's gonna be happening soon. You ready to finish this Boss?" Iron Bull asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be Bull. After all, I've already faced down a would-be god and his pet dragon. Defeating the last of his army of fanatics should be a walk in the park compared to that."

"Heh, good to see you're optimistic about our chances of winning boss; always good for the men to know that their leader is confident about their chances."

"So, how're the Chargers doing Bull?"

"Well, when we're not doing the work you have us do, we're pretty good. Just recently we travelled to the Brecilian Forest to handle a few of the supposed werewolf sightings in the area."

Werewolves, now there was a surprise. Not much had been heard of them ever since the battle against the Archdemon, so it was a big surprise to hear this.

"Really? What happened?"

Iron Bull took a long sip of his drink. "Well, most of our trip was uneventful; for most of our time there we couldn't even find a trace of those damn werewolves. Most of what we fought were just wildlife and the occasional Sylvan. Though we did happen to find the remains of a few that had been killed by the Hero of Ferelden."

"So, you failed then?"

"Huh? No, we did find one of them. It was completely feral though and nearly killed a few of my men before we could put it down. Damn thing nearly bit me as well, Krem thankfully managed to lob it's head off before it could though."

"Really? Something actually managed to get past your weapon close enough to pin you to the ground? Wish I could've been there then, if just to see that."

Iron Bull laughed. "Hey, you try fighting something that appear and disappear into thin air without getting nearly bitten." Iron Bull took another sip of his drink. "Anyway, if you wanna hear more of the details, go ahead and talk to Krem. I'm sure he'll love to tell you more about how I nearly ended up as dog food."

The Inquisitor chuckled. "Maybe I'll do that. Anyway Bull, I'll talk to you later."

"Talk to you later Boss."

The Inquisitor looked up at the second floor and was greeted by quiet a surprise: Cole and Vivienne sitting at the same table and actually talking to one another. As the Inquisitor walked up the stairs and got closer to them, he could overhear their conversation.

"I don't understand why everyone is being so loud tonight." Cole stated as he looked down at everyone.

"It's simply because they are celebrating the coming end of the Venatori and Red Templars, dear. Foolish to celebrate before we even succeed, but the odds are stacked so heavily in our favor that I believe they are allowed this."

The Inquisitor came to a stop at the table and sat down. "So, what're you two doing?"

"Ah, my dear, me and Cole were simply chatting while you and the others were celebrating below."

Well this was a surprise. From almost every time he'd been around the two at the same time, Vivienne conveyed utter contempt for Cole, but now she was calling him by name? "Really? You and Cole are having a civil conversation?"

"Is that so hard to believe my dear? Cole has proven that he isn't so much of a danger to the rest of us, and shown a willingness to be human." Vivienne replied.

Cole just laughed at this and stared down at the people below them.

"Swords sharpened, armor polished, men all confidant that they will win and slaughter the filthy apostates; should be done before the hour is over." Cole said. Despite the fact he'd done less of that when he became human, he still occasionally did it.

"What's that, Cole?"

"That was what a Templar captain who was hunting a group of mages fleeing the circle and was confidant he could kill them. He and his men didn't survive." Cole informed them both.

"Just because an arrogant Templar is killed by a mage, doesn't mean that we'll be defeated by these remnants. You'd do best to remember that we are not a small group of arrogant Templars, and instead an organization with the power to topple a kingdom."

"Even the strongest of fighters and hunters can be killed by a weaker enemy." Cole responded.

The three of them sat in silence for a moment before Vivienne decided to break it. "So, how are you feeling my dear? Are you as confidant that you'll win as the others?"

"That we'll win? Without a doubt. That this coming battle will be in any way easy? No, it'll likely cost us a lot of men. Still, defeating the Venatori and Red Templars once and for all will be worth it in the end."

"Agreed. No matter the cost, ridding the world of those fanatics is vital to achieving peace." Vivienne then turned to Cole. "Cole,, what do you think?"

Cole didn't even seem to hear a word that Vivienne said. When the Inquisitor turned to see what was keeping his attention, he saw Cole staring intently at Maryden. In fact, it almost looked as though he was admiring her and hanging on the sound of her voice as she sang.

"Oh dear, it appears as though Cole has a gained a liking of our resident bard." Vivienne said with a chuckle and the Inquisitor couldn't help but do so as well.

"Agreed. I wonder how this happened."

Cole shook his head and turned to them when he realized they were both speaking. "I'm sorry, I was lost in my thoughts. Could you say that again?"

"Oh, it was nothing my dear, simply admiring our dear bards lovely singing voice." Vivienne replied.

"Yes, her voice is beautiful, and it helps people feel better and happier. She doesn't have someone to do that for her though, which is sad." The Inquisitor and Vivienne could only look at each other and chuckle.

"Don't worry Cole, I'm sure that someone very nice will bring her happiness." The Inquisitor then stood up. Anyway, I'm going back downstairs. Have a nice night you two."

"You as well, my dear."

"Have a nice time Inquisitor."

For rest of the celebration, the Inquisitor celebrated with everyone. He laughed, went up against Bull in a drinking game and lost, him and his companions even danced to Maryden's singing.

The Inquisitor felt that there was only one way to end the night right.

* * *

 **The Inquisitors room**

A woman giggled as the Inquisitor led her into his room and to his Orlesian silk bed. He walked right by his desk beneath a mountain of paperwork and felt two hands clumsily push him onto his bed.

"Now now, no need to be so forceful. Just let me light a fire, and then we can get to the fun part of the night." The girl giggled and laid down in his bed as he got up and walked towards the fire. Ditzy as the girl may have seemed, the Inquisitor suspected that she was putting on this act for some reason unknown to him. Still, he wasn't about to turn down what she offering, not after how many drinks he'd had.

As the fire was lit and he walked toward his bed and the giggling beauty currently on it, he noticed a few letters on his desk. Most of them were unimportant from the looks of it, but he recognized the seal of a few of them; letters from his friends who couldn't be here most likely, unless he was mixing them up with other seals.

None of this was on his mind though when he climbed into bed and toward the beauty before him.

Nothing could ruin this; not the coming battle, an attack on Skyhold, a dragon attack, or even the next blight if that were to happen.

No, he was happy and living a good life, and nothing could take it away from.

Not a soul.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Well guys, that ends this first chapter. What did you think? I know that it didn't have any action at all and focused more on the Inquisitors companions, but I can promise that action will be in the next one. I can also promise you that the Inquisitor will only be in Thedas for so long, and by the end of the prologue he'll end up in Remnant. So I do hope that enjoy everything thus far and until then.**

 **I especially enjoyed writing for Cole and Vivienne.**

 **Oh yeah, as for the companions not here, well avoiding spoilers for those that don't know, Solis has a very good reason for not being here, and the other absent also had good reasons to be gone.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you guys in think in the reviews(Hopefully), don't forget to follow/favorite, and I will see you guys next time.**


	2. The Final Battle

**Authors Note: Hey guys, I'm here with another chapter. I know it's a little late, but that's because I wanted this chapter to be perfect for all who are reading it. I'm pretty happy with all the attention that the last chapter received, and hope that you'll all enjoy this one. I think I did a good job, but I wanna know what you all think. You know, did I do a good job? How can I improve my writing and the story? What are your general thoughts on it? That's one reason that I wanna see your reviews for this story. That, and they inspire me to write faster.**

 **Oh, and while you're reading, I'd suggest listening to some battle music, or music you think would go well with a large battle.**

 **Anyway, on with the chapter!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I own neither RWBY or Dragon Age. They each belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

 **Ferelden, Hinterlands**

"Do we have any idea how many could possibly be in the ruins?" The Inquisitor asked.

"No, as of now we've no idea how many are within the ruins. Based on what our scouts tell us though, it's estimated that there are between 300 to 400 stationed within. It's entirely possible that there could be more, but if there are then we can't see them." Cullen responded as he leaned over the table. The Inquisitor and all of his advisors were already here and had the basics of their attack already planned out. Only a few things needed to be gone over before the assault.

The Inquisitor sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Josephine, what about the local lord and Dalish clan?"

Josephine sighed as well and stepped forward. "Unfortunately, it seems that Bann Teagan doesn't trust us enough to send troops to fight with our own forces, even though the Venatori are on his lands."

"What, but why? I understand that we went after the Templars instead of coming to free Redcliffe from the Venatori, but he should still want to help finish them off. Even more so because these are the ones that took his castle from him." Cullen exclaimed.

"I doubt it's because of that; the Arl is not so petty to hold a grudge over that, especially considering our options were limited." Josephine explained. "No, from what he told me, he doesn't fully trust the Inquisition anymore. However, though he won't support us, he has permitted us to use his land to prepare our forces against them."

Cullen snorted. "So he doesn't want to help us, but he expects us to wipe out the Venatori and Red Templars on his land without aid? I see how it is."

"That's enough Cullen; we can deal with him later." Leliana scolded.

"As for the Dalish in the area, our fortune has been a little better." Josephine answered. "Although cautious at first, once approached and offered the ruins and anything within them for their aid, their keeper promised to send a few of their hunters to aid in the battle. Unfortunately, they don't know of any secret passages into the ruins; it seems that they didn't explore the area extensively for ruins during their time here."

"Well, fortunately for us then, my agents have had luck." Leliana pointed to a set of hills to the east of the elven ruins on the map in front of them. "They found it a few days ago and have managed to confirm that it leads into the ruins. It leads into the lower levels of the ruins, which are for the most part ignored by our enemies. A decision that they will surely come to regret."

"Good, this means that we can move troops into the tunnels and attack from the inside of the their forces while the bulk of our troops attack from the outside." Cullen grinned. "With this and a bit of luck, we may actually come out of this better than any of us could have anticipated."

"Not so fast Cullen; these tunnels aren't very large, so moving a large force of troops through it will be more detrimental than beneficial. A small team of skilled agents would be the best way to use this to our advantage. With your permission Inquisitor, I can have a team of my agents prepared as soon as possible."

"If a small team is best suited, then maybe the Inquisitor and his team would be the best choice. Out of any of us, they're the most skilled and best equipped for something as dangerous as this." They all looked toward the Inquisitor.

"Me and my team will use the tunnels; this way I know that the job will be done correctly." The Inquisitor responded. "When you all begin the assault send up the signal and then we'll make our way through the tunnels."

"As you wish Inquisitor. I'll have one of my agents prepare to take you to them." The Inquisitor nodded at all of them and left the war tent they all stood in, stepping out into the cool and crisp air of the night. The moon hung high in the sky and shone brightly down upon them all, bathing the Inquisition army in its soothing white glow. It was a beautiful sight for any and all to behold, whether they were Inquisition, Venatori, Red Templar, or anyone else. Beauty like this was something that anyone could appreciate, regardless of who they were, and it was something that could make people set aside their differences, if even for a mere moment.

* * *

"So, this is it?" The Inquisitor gestured to the cave they all stood in front of and stared into it. It was nearly pitch black and had an eerie silence emanating from within it.

"Yes Inquisitor. It may not look like much, but the entrance to the tunnels is within the cave. I'm to lead you there and then join up with the main army." Leliana's agent replied.

"Why hasn't anyone found this cave and the entrance before?" The Inquisitor questioned.

"This cave was the home to a family of bears who had decided to make this particular cave their home. Killing them in the confines of said cave with scout gear and very few other agents around to help was difficult, but we managed." The agent answered. "Before the bears lived there though? Who knows. Could be no one wanted to spend time looking in caves when there might not be anything valuable in them."

The Inquisitor nodded and looked toward his companions to see what they were doing. Cole was crouching down low to the ground and watching something in the distance, Varric was inspecting Bianca, and Vivienne was staring up at the night sky.

The Inquisitor wondered when the signal would go up; the attack should be happening any moment now, and the anticipation was beginning to wear on his nerves.

* * *

A lone Venatori walked the outer walls of the elven ruins; off in the distance he could see a few others patrolling the same as him. Below him within the courtyard he could see his fellow Venatori milling about, setting up defenses as best they could, or simply resting on the ground and staring up at the night sky. Deeper within the ruins, the small remnant of what was once the Red Templars also rested and prepared themselves for when the Inquisition would come. At this point in time, it was obvious to all of them that they were all doomed, and that the Inquisition would completely finish them off.

So it came as no surprise as any of them that their leaders had ordered them into these ruins and told them all to prepare themselves. So that's what they'd done for the past two weeks; barricade themselves in, and prepare to go down in a blaze of glory.

A few days ago though, their leaders had given them all an ominous speech about how there might be a way to save themselves and how they only needed to wait and hope for a it of luck. He didn't know about his fellow Venatori or those Red Templars, but he hoped it wasn't some old or ancient artifact. Those artifacts, be they human or elven, had caused nothing but trouble and would do more harm than good at this point in time.

The Venatori was broken from this train of thought by something he could see out of the corner of his eye. It was foolish, but he could have sworn he'd seen-

"I-inquisition!" Was all the Venatori was able to shout, before he was crushed by a flaming boulder and completely obliterated him and caused some of the wall he stood on to crumble to the ground.

The Venatori below could only scramble to prepare themselves, rushing to finish up the last minute barricades, or run into cover and position themselves correctly. Al around them, flaming boulders would crash into the old ruins, sending debris tumbling down onto the panicking Venatori and sending tremors throughout the entirety of the ruins.

Then, a resounding battle cry that could drown out a dragons roar emanated from the titan that was the Inquisitions army as it charged the ruins. In the distance, unnoticed by all, a fireball was sent into the air and exploded, giving the signal that the Inquisitor was waiting for.

* * *

"This way Inquisitor." The agent dashed into the cave and the Inquisitor followed along with his companions. They all reached a door in the back of the cave, hidden behind a narrow passage that they all had to squeeze through one at a time to reach.

"This is the tunnel. Keep going straight and you'll eventually reach a set of stairs that will lead you into the lower levels of the ruins. They should be clear of Venatori and Red Templars, but given they're under siege it's unclear whether or not that will remain true."

"Thank you agent." The agent nodded and begin making their way back through the narrow passage they used to get to the door.

The Inquisitor opened the door and stepped into the passage that was dimly lit by Veilfire, along the walls.

"Well, let's go."

* * *

Inquisition soldiers smashed up against the door barring them from entering the ruins, having away at it with their weapons desperately in hopes of escaping the arrows raing down from above them. Already there were piles of dead Inquisition troops before the entrance, and more were being added to it. The Venatori marksmen above were doing little better than their victims below them. Arrows came flying at them from the archers hidden in the charging fodder troops, taking down archers who were foolish enough to stand in the open. Flaming boulders would smash into the walls and ruins, killing dozens of Venatori at a time due to either the debris caused by it, or the boulder itself.

Venatori rushed all along the courtyard and pushed themselves and whatever they could up against the door. Whenever a portion of the door would splinter off, blades would begin stabbing being thrusted through them as quickly as possible to kill the one who did it.

Venatori mages rushed along the walls, casting Barrier's upon the archer's and themselves, throwing Fire Balls and whatever they could upon the horde of Inquisition soldiers below, and ordering men to different parts of the wall. But for every Barrier put up that saved a life, two more would die for every man; for every soldier they killed below by immolating, freezing solid, or electrocuting, 10 more would always seem to appear and take their place; and for every man they ordered away, they would weaken one section of their defenses to bolster an already failing one.

In one of the towers, Venatori marksmen unleashed volley after volley upon the Inquisition forces, killing droves of them at once and making pincushions out of them. More and more of the Venatori marksmen would rush up to the towers and begin firing volley after at the Inquisition, in a vain attempt that they could repel them this way. All this did however was deplete them of their arrows, and making it easier for the Inquisition to break down their doors.

A boulder eventually smashed into one of the towers, splitting it in two causing the top half to tumble to the ground and raining debris and helpless Venatori upon their fellows and the rest of the ruins. Entire sections were crushed by the falling debris, a few even smashing up against the walls and creating cracks within them.

A Venatori spotted something moving with the Inquisition troops, blocked and protected by the horde of troops rushing around it. "Battering ram!"

They all began focusing their fire on the battering ram, but their arrows would either bounce harmlessly off of the wood or mange to kill one of the men pushing it, only for him to immediately be replaced by another; even the Venatori mages magic couldn't do much to it. Some managed to get off a spell or two at the Inquisition forces, but they themselves were immediately pelted with arrows by the Inquisition archers within the horde. Some were protected by their barriers and would manage to hide behind a wall, while the less fortunate were pelted and collapsed off of the wall.

Alongside the battering ram were siege ladders held up by troops who rushed toward the wall as though they were the only thing that stood between the world and utter destruction. No matter how many arrows were fired at this point, they couldn't manage to stop a single one from reaching the wall, and as the ladders were thrown up against the wall and the Inquisition forces upon them eagerly awaited to exact their revenge, the doors of the ruins were busted open, sending the Venatori that were holding it closed sprawling onto their backs. Not even a moment later, Inquisition forces surged though the entrance like a flood and were met with the forces of the Venatori who were determined to win the day.

Now, the true battle had begun.

* * *

"Sounds like our forces have finally broken through. This should take the pressure off of us." Varric noted as they all moved through the basement of the ruins. It was dusty and full of cob webs, but for the most part it was uneventful. The entire journey here had been filled with slight termers that increased in frequency that closer they got to the ruins.

The Inquisitor attempted to open up a door, only to find it locked. "Cole, would you mind-" Cole crouched down in front of the door before the Inquisitor had even finished speaking and was already working on it.

After a few more moments, Cole stood up. "It's finished." Nodding, the Inquisitor and stepped out into a hallway that led them all to a flight of stairs.

Varric groaned. "I hate stairs." Everyone else just ignored him and began rushing up the stairs as the ruins shook once again. When the reached the top of the stairs they rushed to the open door but dived behind a wall when the sound of boots hitting the old and decrepit ruins was heard.

"Why are we rushing toward the sound of fighting? Normally you're supposed to run in the opposite direction of it." One of the Venatori complained before being nocked upside the head by a larger one.

"Because we're not about to leave our people down there to die. Besides, there's nowhere to run any."

The Inquisitor nocked an arrow and began counting down with his fingers, to which the others all prepared themselves as well. Just as the Inquisitor was about to lean out of cover however, a boulder smashed into the group of Venatori, crushing a few and sending the others flying. One flew through the door and tumbled all the way to the edge of the stairs, its body limp and its head twisted the wrong way.

"Ok, looks like lucks on our side then if we weren't hit with that thing." Varric nervously said as he stepped out from behind the wall, Bianca raised in his hands and aiming down the direction these Venatori came from.

"Such a shame they all died though; if one had been unfortunate enough to be left alive he could have told us where his leaders were located." Vivienne commented.

"There are who knows how many more where these came from. We can ask one of them" The Inquisitor replied.

They all ran in the direction the Venatori had come from, ignoring the debris falling around them and the screams of the men dying below. They eventually happened upon a group of Venatori marksmen firing flaming arrows down upon the Inquisition at the command of a mage.

"Come on you whelps, don't stop firing now! Let them have everything you've got!" The Venatori mage shouted as he prepared a fireball and hurled it at the Inquisition below.

The Inquisitor gestured at Cole with his head who nodded back. He then stepped into the shadows and became completely invisible to everyone there, as Varric and the Inquisitor both nocked arrows and aimed them at the group in front of them.

Just as the Venatori mage was preparing another spell, he could feel the cold of metal enter his back, and before he could even utter out a scream a dagger jammed through his throat and his corpse was kicked to the ground with a thud. The Venatori all spun around in confusion before two of them received arrows in their chests, nocking them back into their fellows and dooming them all as both arrows exploded into a ball of flame enveloping them all, the shrapnel from the blasts flying into the marksmen and causing some to stumble off the edge of the ruins into the courtyard below.

The Inquisitor walked by the corpses with his bow in hand and his companions following closely behind him. As Vivienne was passing by the Venatori, she saw one attempting to crawl away now that the Inquisitor's back was turned and simply snapped her fingers and encasing the lone survivor in ice.

* * *

Iron Bull charged through a group of Venatori grunts, grabbing one by the neck and throwing him into a group charging him. A few were nocked down, but the majority were still charging. Smirking and letting out a War Cry, he charged his enemies swung his axe in a long horizontal arc, lobbing the heads off a few of them and sending the few that managed to block flying backwards. Before they could managed to get up, they were pelted with a hail of arrows.

Looking back, he saw Sera hastily firing arrow after arrow at the Venatori with his men, the more melee oriented ones stopping them from meeting a grisly fate at the end of a Venatori blade.

He blocked the swing from one Venatori and spun around him, before bring his axe down on his back and kicking the Venatori off his axe and into the courtyard below. Wasting no time, he turned and hit one Venatori in the face with the pommel of his axe and kicked him into the courtyard. He then rolled behind a group of Venatori giving his men particular trouble and with a powerful horizontal swing of his axe, he severed the spines of each of them.

"Thaks Chief!" Krem shouted as he parried the blade of an incoming Venatori and kicking him in the crotch, before slicing open the neck of the Venatori.

"Alright boys, come on!" Iron Bull shouted as he charged along the wall, his men following behind him and nocking and Venatori off the wall.

Down below, most of the Venatori in the courtyard had been defeated and were being mopped up now by the Inquisition soldiers below. Soon they would push further into the ruins and the battle would end soon after. Something was nagging at Bull though, making him nervous. So far all they'd seen were Venatori soldiers, not even a hint of the Red Templars. This was surprising, especially since the Venatori had mainly used them as canon fodder, especially at the Well of Sorrow's.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the entrance to the front gate was completely encased in ice, blocking off anyone from entering the ruins. Then, doors to the inerior of the ruins were busted open, and a flood of Red Templars surged through them and began decimating the troops inside the courtyard. All along the walls, Red Templar Shadow's began appearing seemingly out of thin air and assassinating the Inquisition troops on the walls, pushing the siege ladders off of the walls and disappearing back into thin air. Stepping out from the walls, a Red Templar Behemoth made a sweeping swing of its massive arm and sending troops flying. Red lyrium sprouted up from the ground as well, trapping the few soldiers who managed to evade the things initial attack.

The Venatori cheered as the Red Templars made themselves known, all sense of the rivalry between the two factions forgotten as they fought side by side without any reservations. The Venatori mages who had encased the entrance in ice stood behind the Behemoth and pelted the soldiers with spell after spell, and regularly reinforcing the entrance with more and more ice.

"Boss, go! Me and the boys' will deal with the Red Templars!"

"Not gonna happen Krem! There's too many for you to deal with alone; we're sticking together and taking out those mages to let the Inquisition forces in!" Bull responded, back-handing a Red Templar shadow just as it appeared and then bringing his axe down upon its head and putting and end to it as its head was split in two.

"We don't have time to argue Chief; if this is what we're facing out here then the Inquisitor must be facing much worse inside. You need to catch up to him and help him deal with whatever's going on in there. We'll catch up once we've let the Inquisition troops back in." Krem responded firmly. Not a single one of Bull's men were disagreeing and seemed intent on doing what Krem said.

Bull sighed. "Fine. Sera, come on."

Sera nodded, and the two dashed off together pelting Venatori and Red Templars with arrows and nocking them aside easily as they went to find an entrance into the ruins.

* * *

The Inquisitor dodged to the left of a jab toward his guts and jammed his arrow under the helmet of a Red Templar and plunging it into the neck of the foot soldier. Letting him slump to the floor, the Inquisitor back flipped through the air and loosed another arrow toward a group of Red Templars charging toward Cole as he was finishing off a Shadow. The arrow split into dozens of arrows and slammed into the backs of the group causing them to collapse to the floor. The one that didn't stumbled right into the waiting blade of Cole.

Not a moment to spare, Cole used the Red Templars corpse as a spring and leaped into the air, throwing a dagger at a Shadow approaching Vivienne and slamming down upon a foot soldier daggers first.

Vivienne spun around and smacked the Shadow clean across the face with her staff just as Cole's dagger entered its chest. Wasting no time, she froze him solid and smashed him to pieces with her staff; then, as a group of soldiers charged her, she ran toward them and tossed her staff aside. Casting an array of ice mines in front of her, she Fade Stepped through them all just as they stepped on the mines and became encased in the ice. Quickly summoning her blade of magical, she began smashing every one of them with her blade. She then narrowly dodged a red lyrium crystal as it sped past her head by rolling toward her staff. Not giving it a chance to attack her again, she froze it solid in a block of ice.

An arrow then embedded itself in the skull of the Horrors' skull, and as a group of foot soldiers ran by, the arrow exploded and sent shards of frozen red Templar across the room, nocking down the foot soldiers and nocking them unconscious as they were pelted with the shrapnel.

Varric lowered Bianca and slung her across his back. "Looks like there were more Red Templars here than we thought." All around them the bodies of Red Templars were littered across the floor, strewn in all manner of positions and covered in stab wounds, ice, or simply pelted with arrows.

"It doesn't matter; we need to keep moving until we reach wherever their leaders are." The entire ruins then shook violently, causing them all to stumble to the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Varric thought aloud.

* * *

Templars, Dalish, and Inquisition troops surged through the now collapsed wall into the ruins and pounced upon the Red Templars and Venatori. All over the ruins, be it the walls, the interior of them, the courtyard, the scaffolding; everywhere was a constant warzone. At this point, it was simply a battle of attrition between the opposing armies. For every inch of ground either side would take or retake, they would lose dozens of soldiers.

The courtyard remained the biggest place of conflict; despite how many troops that came to aid the Charger's, the vast amount of Red Templars there and their Behemoth made taking it a trying task to get anywhere near the mages keeping the front entrance blocked. Thing's weren't so easy for the Venatori or Red Templars though. Their own numbers were limited, and as much help as the Behemoth was, it was constantly taking damage and doing collateral damage to the others around it regardless of who they were. The Venatori were mostly gone at this point, the only one's remaining being the Spellbinders and mages; they weren't doing very good themselves. Constant casting of spells and having to keep an ice barricade up meant that they were tiring very quickly, only kept up by their lyrium potions that they would drink sparingly.

Along the walls, it was a dead stalemate; most of the Red Templar Shadow's had been killed at this point and only Venatori remained backed 3 Shadow's that stuck to the shadows. The Inquisition was hardly doing better though, with lower troop numbers and tired soldiers from 2 hours of constant fighting.

Then, the ice wall encasing the main entrance was slammed into by something powerful, sending cracks all throughout it. The Red Templars and Venatori didn't have a chance to do anything however, as it was finally shattered into millions of pieces as a horde of angry Inquisition rushed through the front entrance.

Aided by the new swarm of soldiers and Templars, the Chargers' were finally capable of taking down the Behemoth thanks to Dalish's magic; the Venatori mages followed soon after, their magic disabled by the Templar's aiding in the battle.

This signaled the end of the battle was nearing to many with the Inquisition that now had unobstructed entrance into the ruins and could now move their troops in without any resistance.

* * *

The Inquisitor and his party ran through the halls of the ruins, frantically searching for the leaders of the Venatori and Red Templars to end it. They came to a crossroads in the ruins; one path would lead them down the ruins closer to the basement, while the other would lead them to the top of the ruins.

"Well Inquisitor, which path do we take?" Varric asked.

"Up, going deeper in won't lead us anywhere." So up the stairs they ran, ignoring the shaking of the ruins caused by the trebuchets as they fired their last boulders at the ruins. When they reached the top of the stairs they saw a long hallway that lead to a giant door at the end of it, hallways to the left and right intersecting there as well. All across the hall was old Elvish heraldry, statues of the Elven gods, even paintings of various prominent figures covering the walls with Dalish text beneath them.

As they ran toward the door, a group of Venatori stepped into their sight from behind the walls and led by a brute with an axe. Just as they were about to charge the Inquisitor and his party, an arrow embedded itself in the ground at the groups feat, before exploding and sending the Venatori flying in all directions and slamming into walls. The brute stumbled to his feet, only to be nocked back to the ground by a charging Qunari who grabbed the brutes' head and began repeatedly slamming it into the ground until it was nothing but paste.

"Bull, Sera? What are you doing here, I thought you were supposed to be with Charger's?" The Inquisitor questioned.

"We were, but I thought you could use a bit of help. Besides, with your forces having finally made it into the courtyard and ruins, this fights gonna end soon. Figured I should be here for the big battle against the last leaders of these groups." Bull responded.

"Yeah; why be down there when we could help you kick these stupid bastards where the sun don't shine?" Sera responded.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. Bull, mind taking down that door?"

"With pleasure." The iron doors swung open fast and quickly as Iron Bull kicked them open. The Venatori and Red Templars inside sprung into action and drew their blades before their leaders had even responded.

"Quickly men! Hold them off until Amatus can activate the Eluvian!" The Red Templar leader shouted as an ice wall sprouted between him, the mage casting a spell on the Eluvian, and the coming fight.

The Inquisitor frantically nocked an arrow. "We have to finish this quickly, before they activate the Eluvian!" The Inquisitors companions all sprung into action, meeting the group of Venatori and Red Templars head on in their final battle.

Iron Bull barreled through a group of footsoldiers and nocked them to the side, spinning in a full circle as he came to a stop and illing the Venatori and Red Templars foolish enough to charge him from all angles. Cole worked around Iron Bull, slinking into the shadows and appearing behind a Venatri Spellbinder just before he could cast spell, stabbing him through the neck with his daggers. Kicking the Venatori off his daggers, he brought them up underneath the heads of two archers surprised to see him there and slid the daggers through their chins.

Varric and Sera stayed in the backfiring arrow after arrow into the crowd of canon fodder before them. For every arrow they used to end the life of an enemy, their limited supply of arrows got even lower. A group of Red Templars charged them blindly, only to be met with a swarm of furious bees assaulting them everywhere. Varric then fired an arrow into the group, which exploded and sent the group collapsing to the ground. A shadow appeared behind Varric and went to stab varric, but its attack was deflected by an invisible barrier and only sent him stumbling to the ground. Sera kicked the Shadow in the gut and dropped her bow, rolling over the Shadow's back and drawing her dagger, before jamming it in the Shadow's through and yanking it out, sending it flying into a Venatori's crotch.

Rolling to her bow, she knocked nocked three arrows and fired them into a Venatori Gladiator's head, all three finding their mark and causing him to collapse to the ground.

"Duck!" Sera didn't think twice about doing this, going prone to the ground as an arrow sailed over her head. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a group of four Venatori collapse to the ground in a perfect line, taken down by a single arrow.

"Thanks Varric!"

Vivienne parried the blow of a Red Templar and stabbed him through the gut, before sliding the blade up through his body and spinning around, bringing the blade of energy slamming down into a Venatori soldiers' shoulder. Wasting no time, she Fade stepped backwards through a Red Tmplar Shadow and freezing solid. A Red Templar Horror fired its shards at her, completely destroying her barrier, but not managing to kill her. She then enveloped herself in the magic of the very Veil itself and charged toward the Horror. Nothing it did could harm her however, every shard it blasted bouncing off her harmlessly. She then passed through it and completely disappeared, confusing the Horror. Not soon after, it exploded into dozens of pieces and Vivienne discharged her Fade Cloak within it, blasting a few enemies around iron bull and freezing them solid for them to be smashed by Iron Bull.

The Inquisitor jumped off of the shoulders of a Venatori and into the air flipping, firing an arrow into the same Venatori. Mere moments later, the arrow exploded and sent the soldier flying into another and nocking him down. While he was in the air, the Inquisitor reached into a pouch at his side, before throwing dozens of elemental mines into the group below him. They all exploded into a beautiful arrow of fire, ice, and electricity as his enemies froze, burned, and were completely vaporized by the mines. A red Templar and Venatori charged at him swords drawn and a battle cry on their lips. The Inquisitor nocked an arrow and waited for the Red Templar to get close, before he fired it right into the neck of him and ran up his body and flipped backwards, firing a trio of arrows into the Venatori who soon after collapsed to the ground and slid along the floor, the arrows breaking inside him as they did.

Soon after, every enemy was finished off and the ice wall that had separated them all from the Eluvian had collapsed without a trace of its existence anywhere to be seen. Something was obvious though; the Eluvian was activated, and the Red Templar and Venatori leaders were nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it! They used it while we were occupied and are now who knows where!" The Inquisitor shouted in frustration.

"Then let's go after them bo-" Iron Bull was interrupted by a Behemoth charging through the door and making a beeline for the group, bruised and battered Veantori and Red Templars close behind it.

"Go! We'll deal with these idiots and catch up with you after!" Varric shouted as he began firing at them.

The Inquisitor nodded and charged into the Eluvian just as the Behemoth reached the group and swung its massive arm toward the group who dodged to the side.

Just before the Behemoth smashed it into pieces forever.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Aaaaaaannnnnnddddd done! Nearly 6,000 words on its own not counting the authors notes. Wow. That's an impressive number for me. So, what did you guys think so far? Is it better than the original's opening so far? Did you enjoy the cliffhanger that I left at the ending? Please let me know in the reviews.**

 **Oh yeah, one important thing; what should I do for the Inquisitors team in the future? I had two ideas. In idea 1, I brought characters from the Dragon Age universe to RWBY in some way to have them join the Inquisitors team, but then the other idea came to me.**

 **Idea 2 involves OC's. More importantly, your OC's. It doesn't matter if they're for Dragon Age or RWBY, so long as they're good they'd be accepted. But since I can't decide, I decided to see what you all thought, and whatever the consensus was, I'd then either hold a poll or post a character sheet for people to use.**

 **Anyway, I can't wait for next time, and I'll see you guys next time! Don't forget to favorite, follow, and leave a review!**


	3. A Whole New World

**Authors Note: So... I don't have much to say really. sorry that this was late, but I just got a little distracted over the Thanksgiving break. Regardless of that though, I think you'll all like this new chapter. Oh, and after having some time to think, I've decided what too do about the Inquisitors team and I think that you'll love what I do with it.**

 **Anyway, time to get to the story so you all can enjoy it.**

 **Disclaimer: I own neither Dragon Age or RWBY. They each belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

"Well... this looks nothing like what Morrigan showed me." The Inquisitor thought aloud as he stared at the dead space around him. Everything was grey and murky, the trees were dead and the sky was dull, not a single color too add life to it. Even if it had been incredibly foggy, he could see the silhouettes of trees in the background that looked full of life.

The Inquisitor spared a glance behind him at the Eluvian and waited for a moment in hopes the others would come charging through it too aid him. After waiting for 5 minutes to see if they would catch up, he sighed and began walked down the stairs before him and slinging his bow across his shoulder. His eyes darted across the wide expanse in front of him in hopes of spotting his targets. Instead, he got closer looks at the land before him and the wide open spaces around him. The fog obscured the base of whatever rock was holding the land he walked on up. All around him he could see decaying and crumbling elven ruins that hadn't been disturbed for who knows how long.

As he crossed through the ruins, across the unsecure land beneath him, and into old ruins with Elven books scattered across the ground he hadn't seen any trace of his targets either. Worse yet was the way he was feeling. He'd only just recently noticed how slow and sluggish he was moving, and how fatigued he was from simply walking for a short time.

' _I'm beginning too think this place doesn't like humans.'_ The Inquisitor thought too himself in indignation.

Eventually his fatigue got the best of him, and he sat down against a wall. His discomfort didn't leave for a moment, but it was still better than him walking. As he stared up into the dull grey sky and the lifeless orb that was the sun, he wondered if he'd ever find the last leaders of his enemies. If he was lucky, then they were experiencing the same amount of discomfort he was; or if he was unlucky, they'd already found an Eluvian and escaped to anywhere in Thedas, or worse, another world. He vaguely remembered Morrigan saying something about that, but if that was really possible then he'd never be able to find them.

He saw movement out the corner of his eye and stood to his feet too see what it was; just in time to see the Red Templar leader run through an active Eluvian. The Inquisitor began dashing along the path too the Eluvian, twisting and rolling through the library in his way, before coming upon the mirror. He slowly walked through it, hand on his arrows for whatever was on the other side.

* * *

The Inquisitor could barely regain his bearings, before something came flying towards him. He could barely dodge to the side before, before another thing, this time with the resemblance of a wolf, swiping at him with its claws. He back flipped through the air and released an arrow that flew true and pierced through the glowing red eye of the thing.

The thing that flew towards him before hit him from behind and sent him rolling through the floor, before curling up into a ball again and flying toward him. The Inquisitor rolled to the side again, only this time it was towards his bow. He heard the ting coming towards him before he could even turn around, and on instinct he leapt into the air and vaulted off its curled up form. As the Boar-like thing rolled along the floor and slammed into the wall belly up, the Inquisitor let loose three arrows toward it.

As the thing died with a screech, the Inquisitor sighed and slumped against a wall. His fatigue from the Crossroads was gone, replaced by the alarm of fighting those things. Now that he could get a better look at them, the only thing that came to the forefront of his mind as they dissipated is horror. Those wolf and boar things looked demonic in their own way; even more so than actual demons did. In a way, it looked as though these boars and wolves were possed by demons and carrying the Darkspawn taint at the same time. Adding to that horror was their more massive and muscular forms compared to regular animals, and the bone armor that they all seemed to have.

' _If this is somewhere on Thedas, then I hope I never live too see it discovered.'_ The Inquisitor thought to himself with a huff.

He took a look around and saw that he was in ruins of some kind, covered in moss and overgrowth as the roof above him let in rays of light from the holes in it. He was in a circular room, cracks in the walls and statues in varying conditions. He could even see a tree beginning to grow somehow behind him. At the very least this meant that there was once civilization here, and hopefully there still was.

His relief, and train of thought, were interrupted when he heard howling and growling coming from all around him. Those demon wolves dropped down from the holes in the ceiling and stalked out of the only doorway out of the room. They all began circling and closing in on him, maws gaping and claws sharpened.

"Well... shit." The Inquisitor groaned as he knocked an arrow and stepped to the side; just as they all charged at him propelled by their powerful legs and muscles.

* * *

 **5 hours later**

"Professor Ozpin? Can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Yes, Glynda, come in."

Glynda stepped into Ozpin's office with scroll in hand to see him gazing out towards the Emerald Forest with a hard stare set in his eyes.

"Is something the matter, Professor Ozpin?" Glynda stood next too him and hazed out towards the forest in hopes of seeing what had his attention. No hope there.

"No, Glynda. I'm just thinking; What did you need?"

"There is a week till initiation and we still don't have enough students too form equal teams, sir." She expanded her scroll too show him; there were 47 students in total, just shy of what they needed for 12 new teams. "We may need to take another look at the applications we initially dismissed to find one more student too even the teams out."

"Glynda, have the Grimm in the Emerald Forest seemed on edge to you recently?" Ozpin asked her out of the blue.

"'On edge', sir?"

"More frantic; condensed." When he saw she was still confused, he sighed. "The Grimm have all been swarming towards the old ruins in the cliffs, near the artifact pedestals."

"Why would they be going there? Those ruins have been abandoned for year now, archeologist determined that there was nothing of interest there, and there aren't any of our students in the forest at the moment..." Glynda pondered.

"It could be that treasure hunters decided to go there anyway in search of artifacts to sell, regardless of what ." Ozpin took a slow sip from his coffee. "Or perhaps they have amassed there in preparation for an attack on Beacon."

"That... seems unlikely, Ozpin." Glynda turned and started marching out the door. "Regardless, I'll take a Bullhead and fly over there to see what's causing this. If there are people there, then I will bring them back." And with that she was out, closing it behind her with a soft but audible thud.

Ozpin merely hummed and took another sip from his coffee.

* * *

The Inquisitor let out a pained grunt as he rolled along the ground and broke into a run. Not too far behind him, he could hear the massive horde speeding after him as their feet slammed into the ground and their claws raked through the bark of trees behind him as they climbed into the tree tops. Their growls and barks; roars and pants; even the caws from the small black birds above who'd swoop down in an attempt to peck out his eyes filled him with fear and pumped him full of more adrenaline.

He glanced down at the wound in his chest. One of those Boar things had curled into a ball and hit him head on. His armor was dented now, stained with the muck and grime from the ground he'd been thrown too on more than one occasion, mixed with his own blood that had gushed forth from his wound before he could use a potion.

Reaching into a pouch at his side, he glanced behind him. These things were catching up so quickly that he could almost feel their breath on the back of his neck, in a sense. Firmly grasping a vial in his hand, he smashed it into the ground, before he was engulfed in black mist and was completely gone when the things chasing him pounced into the mist.

One of the wolf things, presumably the alpha from how much larger it was from its fellows and the amount of bone armor it had, stood on its powerful hind legs and sniffed the air. The other wolf things all obediently stayed close by and began sniffing the ground looking for him. The bears and boars began leaving the group, searching for the Inquisitor on their own; the birds were the same, circling through the air hoping to spot him.

Not too far away from the horde was the Inquisitor, seeming to reappear out of thin air as he fell too his hand and knees panting. With a pained groan, he stumbled to his feet and continued going further south. He took the bow from his back and found that it was still intact, if battle damaged from his previous fights. Not a single arrow inhabited his quiver, having been spent in his fight against his former enemies, and then those relentless creatures.

His legs soon gave out from beneath him and he collapsed to the ground. With a crawl, he found a tree with some shade beneath it and dragged himself up into a sitting position. His gaze went too the sky and saw that the sun was setting, casting an orange glow across the cloudless sky.

In a way, he supposed it was poetic; his life was going to end just as the end of the day came. It certainly wasn't how he expected too go. No, he expected to either die alongside his friends fighting against the threats to Thedas, or in his own bed with his loved ones beside him. The latter may have been unlikely, but it was something to hope for at least. He certainly didn't expect to die along in some unknown forest as the sun was setting, soon to be eaten by the creatures that claim the kill of the famed Herald of Andraste.

Soon, he heard the caws of the birds and the howl of the wolves, sealing his fate and setting it in stone. Closing his eyes, he feel unconscious soon after and slid further down the tree.

* * *

The Beowolves all scattered as a tree was sent flying towards them, bowling through their numbers too slow to dodge and flattening them. The alpha leapt towards Glynda, propelled by its powerful hind legs as it flew through the air claws first. Before it could even get close though, it went rigid in the air and was sent flying towards a great oak and sending fragments of its now smashed armor in all directions.

Glynda had a hard stare in her eyes as she inspected the area around her for more Grimm. She heard a whistling in the wind behind her as two Beowolves leapt at her from behind, only to be repelled with great force by her riding crop. The miniature Nevermore swooped down at her from above, attempting to pellet her from all sides with their sharp beaks and talons. An energy shield seemingly appeared out of thin air merely moments before the Nevermore could reach her. As they were forced back, Glynda's riding crop gained a dim white glow, and as she raised it sharply into the air she spun around, ice shooting up from the ground and impaling each one of them on the spikes of ice.

It vanished as soon as she was done and broke into shards that soon disappeared, the Nevermore bodies disappearing just as they were about to impact the ground. Wasting not a single moment, she rushed over to the man slumped against a tree and put two fingers to his neck in search of a pulse. The minute dragged on, and just as she was about to give up and walk away, she felt a faint pulse. With a sigh, she levitated the unknown man up from ground and walked towards the bullhead just as it landed.

As she gently set the man down on the ground, she turned to the pilot. "Beacon, now! This man doesn't have much time."

"Yes mam!" She could feel the Bullhead lift off, but she paid it no mind as she tended to the man and searched for any wounds he may have.

* * *

The Inquisitor jolted awake and sat up with a gasp. His eyes darted left and right, taking note of every detail of the room he was in; it was white and cubed with strange looking metal things at the side of the bed he was in, with curtain surrounding him on all side except behind him. He then looked down and noticed that he was in some strange white clothing without a single thing of his in sight.

"Ah, so you're awake now? Good." A man with grey hair and black glasses said from his side, causing him to turn and look cautiously at him. The man was in some black clothing with a green scarf, and in his hands were a walking cane at his side, and a white mug in his other hand.

"Who are you?"

"AH, forgive me. I am Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy." Ozpin introduced with a small grin. "Who are you?"

So the man wanted to know his name? He supposed that was alright, it would establish some form of trust if they at least knew each others name. If this turned out to be a whole knew world as well, then it would be best if he did tell him his name and everything else that he could. Especially if it turned out that he'd be here for a while.

"My name is Maxwell Trevelyan, it's a pleasure too meet you, Headmaster Ozpin."

"Maxwell Trevelyan? That's quite the unusual name you have their."

Maxwell chuckled and leaned back. "Well, I suppose that's because I'm not exactly from here."

Ozpin looked intrigued at that and took a sip of his coffee. "Oh? And where exactly are you from?"

"Before I answer that, I need to ask you something. Then I promise too answer all of your questions as honestly as possible. Deal?" Ozpin seemed too ponder this for a moment, before nodding toward Maxwell.

"Ok, good. So, what can you tell me about those ruins in the forest?"

Professor Ozpin seemed amused and a bit confused at the question, but he answered nonetheless. "Those are ruins from an old, long forgotten civilization that has ruins scattered across all of the world. Why?"

Maxwell sighed. "Because that's going to be a big part of my answer to you. Please hold all of your questions until I'm done."

And so, Maxwell explained everything to the Headmaster in vivid detail; Of who he was and what he did; of why and how he was here; even a bit of who his enemies were and why he was chasing them. Through it all, even the parts that must have seemed astonishingly outlandish, Ozpin sat beside him with a patient and interested look on his face as he absorbed all of the information he was being told. When it was over and done with, Ozpin seemed to contemplate what he'd said for a moment, before taking a long, slow sip from his mug It was enough to make Maxwell nervous at what was going through his head.

"I believe you." Ozpin stated when he was done. Despite his best efforts, Varnell couldn't withhold his surprise.

"You do?"

"Mr. Trevelyan, I have seen things in this world that must would call impossible; done things many wouldn't believe; and even met people who manage to do the impossible every day of their." Ozpin took sip from his mug, before setting it aside with a small smile. " My point is, none of what you've said seems at all impossible to me at this point in my life."

Maxwell sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"You're welcome; of course this doesn't mean that I don't still have questions, and you will forgive me if I take up more of your time to ask them. It's not every day that you get to meet a visitor from another world."

"Alright, what is it you want to know?" Maxwell felt a sharp pain in his chest for a moment, before it went away.

Ozpin hummed, seeming to take notice of his pain. "I'll refrain from asking about your world for now since that would be a long talk and will just ask simple one." He wait a moment for Maxwell to object, before continuing. "So, how did you survive for so long in the Emerald Forest by yourself? From what we could tell, you survived for possibly 5-6 hours, perhaps even longer."

Maxwell chuckled. "Well, much as I'd love to take credit for fighting so long against those things, I only actually fought them three times; two of which were inside the ruins. No, I took to running and hiding instead since they vastly outnumbered me and fought like almost nothing I'd seen before. Thankfully I had more than a few tricks up my sleeve that I could actually use against them, I even had a few spare traps left on me from my previous fight that slowed them down." He explained. "Of course, that didn't last long, nearly 12 of those large wolf things surrounded me with 6 of those boars as back up. That was when my armor got cracked and I wound up in such a horrible condition. Barely managed to escape, probably wouldn't without the jar of bees I had." He'd need too thank Sear for suggesting he pick those up if he ever saw her again.

"Really? You fought against that many Grimm when you were at a disadvantage both numbers wise and strength wise, and yet you still managed to finish them off and continue surviving until Ms. Goodwitch found you? An impressive feat for one with no knowledge of how too fight them and who has no aura."

So those things were called Grimm? Maxwell would have to remember that so he at least had a general name for those things.

"What's aura?"

"Aura is an ability that all things with a soul are capable of generating and harnessing with enough practice. With it, people who have enough training with it are capable of using it for a variety of different things ranging from using it to defend against damage, to increasing ones own physical capabilities, it can even heal people so long as they have enough of it." Ozpin took another sip from his mug. "The only creatures we know of that aren't capable of harnessing the power of aura are the Grimm due to their lack of souls. It can do many other things as well, but I believe that has sated your curiosity?"

Maxwell nodded. "Well, it sounds like an amazing ability to have. It'd definitely have helped me if I'd had it back home." He suddenly remembered, and it must have shown because Ozpin gained a curious look on his face.

"Professor Ozpin, did you happen too see two other people in the forest? One that wore robes and carried a staff while the other wore armor with glowing red crystals covering it?"

Too his disappointment, Ozpin shook his head. "No, we haven't. You were the only person we found in the Emerald Forest I'm afraid." Ozpin responded. "If they weren't there when you left this Eluvian, then it's entirely possible that they are still in the Emerald Forest. If that's the case, then they will not survive long unless they find civilization."

Maxwell sighed, but nodded anyway. "I suppose that will have to do. Once I'm better, I will go back to those ruins and find the Eluvian to take me back home."

Ozpin sighed. "I'm afraid that's not possible."

Maxwell couldn't help but get the feeling he was about to hear something he didn't like.

"Those ruins you were in? I sent one of my fellow teachers there once we got you too the infirmary because we thought that you weren't alone. When they searched the ruins, all they found was a shattered mirror behind rubble surround by Grimm."

"What but ho-" Then he remembered, one of those Grimm had gone flying towards him when he'd left the Eluvian. He hadn't thought about it at the time, he hadn't even heard anything shatter, but it must have destroyed it when he moved. "Damn it! That was my only way home."

"Calm down, Mr. Trevelyan." He did as he was bid, albeit a bit reluctantly. "I did tell you that there ruins similar to that scattered across the world remember?" He nodded in response, slowly realizing what he was being told. "All you need to do is find another of these ruins and hope that it has one of these Eluvian."

"Thank you, Ozpin, for telling me this."

"You're very welcome. I should let you know though that ruins like those have been picked clean of all they have once found, so you will find it difficult to find a ruin that houses one." Ozpin informed him. "Of course, you could always look for someone who bought an Eluvian thinking it was simply an old relic and ask to see it."

"Again, thank you for telling me all this, Ozpin; I wouldn't have anywhere to start if not for you."

Ozzpin hummed in response and gave him a hard stare. "I've a favor to ask of you, Mr. Trevelyan."

"What is it?" Ozpin took a sip of his mug for a moment, savoring every sip of what was in the mug as though it was the greatest thing in existence. He then turned his attention to Varnell.

"There is a great evil working in the shadows of this world, Mr. Trevelyan. Despite how far we've come and the peace we currently have, there are those who work from the shadows, watching as their machinations for the fall of the kingdoms and humanity slowly come to fruition." Ozpin sighed and took a seat. "I have done everything in my power to stop them, but they remain too illusive, too powerful, and too connected for me and my colleagues to stop."

Maxwell remained silent and wated for him too finish.

"It is why I have recently taken it upon myself too find individuals who I believe can help me stop them before they plunge the world into darkness, and leave us defenseless against the creatures of Grimm." Ozpin let that hang in the air for a moment, before continuing. "And I believe that you, Mr. Trevelyan, are one of those individuals."

"You can't be serious." Maxwell deadpanned.

"Oh? Why not?"

"I know nothing about this world and don't have any experience fighting in it."

"No, instead you have experience fighting enemies from your own world that were powerful in their own right, and can bring your experience and skill to the table."

"I don't have aura at all and I'm definitely not as skilled as your warriors who do have it."

"That can easily be rectified, as we know how to unlock peoples' aura. As for our Hunters, I will agree; you only qualify as a Hunter in training at your current skill." He told Maxwell. "However, once your aura is unlocked and we train you as a Huntsman, you will no doubt rank among our most skilled."

Maxwell sighed. "My Inquisition needs me."

"You told me that you were defeating your enemies as you disappeared; they will be fine without you if you've left the correct people in your stead." Ozpin frowned. "Please, Mr. Trevelyan, you would be of great aid to this world if you were to stay; perhaps you would even be the person to save it from destruction."

"..." Silence was all Maxwell could give Ozpin as an answer, which caused him to sigh.

"I understand that this must be a lot too process, but please, promise me that you will at least think on it." Ozpin said. "In return, whether you decide to become a Huntsman or not, I will do everything in my power to find an Eluvian or old ruins."

Maxwell sighed. "Alright, Ozpin, I guess I can do that. So long as you promise to tell me as soon as you find something of value."

Ozpin grinned and nodded at him. "Thank you, Mr. Trevelyan. I promise that should I find anything of value, you will be the first too know." He then stood and began walking out the door. "Now, I'll let you rest and recover from your injuries. We can talk more later."

Maxwell nodded as Ozpin left and looked down at his lap. In truth, he didn't know the first thing about what he'd just agreed to, but he figured he'd find out in the future. Hopefully Ozpin found a way back for him soon though, because he really didn't want to fight against those Grimm again, or who knows what other terrors inhabited this world.

Of course, all of that could wait until he found out what those machines that kept making noise were, and how they were built.

* * *

"Are you sure that was wise, Ozpin?" Glynda sighed.

"No, I'm not sure. I don't know a single thing about him or his motivations; but I hope that in time, with the more he tells me, that my gamble in trusting him will pay off and he will aid us in our fight." Ozpin explained. "Besides, didn't you say that we needed one more student for our teams to be even?"

Glynda groaned. "That may be so, but he has no experience in this world and doesn't even have his aura unlocked; mere moments ago he didn't even know what aura was."

"All of which can be remedied; he can be taught about this world's dangers and issues; he can even be taught about aura and how to use it; but he has things that make him invaluable to us."

"And what's that?" Glynda pondered.

"His skill and experience." When he saw that she was still confused, he hummed. "Despite the fact that there are most certainly hunters will just as much experience and more skill, he has those qualities in areas that they don't, along with the potential to become a hero of this world."

Glynda simply sighed and turned to walk away. "I suppose we'll just have to see if he proves capable of all that."

Ozpin just hummed and followed after her, absent mindedly thinking that he'd need to get more coffee before the day was over.

* * *

 **Authors Note: And so the chapter is finally done. What do you guys think? I know that it didn't have a lot of action this time, but I figured that it would be best to show where he currently stands. Me personally? I think this chapter was good, and that it sets things up nicely for the future. Oh, and what did you guys think of the name for this Inquisitor? Please let me know in the reviews, along with your thoughts on the chapter and story overall. Or whatever else is on your mind.**

 **Anyway, don't forget to favorite and follow as well, and I'll see you guys next time.**


	4. The Day Before Initiation

**Author's Note: Hello good people! Great to see you all again! I know that it's been a while, but Merry late Christmas to those who celebrate it, and for those who don't, please accept my humble gifts. A special gift was recently posted on my most famous story, so I hope all of you go check it out, and know that I'll soon be posting a new chapter for another story.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I own neither Dragon Age or RWBY. They each belong to their respective company's.**

* * *

Maxwell was not having a good day.

"Oof." He grunted as he was slammed against the wall. As he fell t the ground, he heard something whistle through the air towards him. He rolled out of the way just in time for the ground to explode where he was mere moments before. As the ground shook, and he heard the same whistling from before speeding towards him again, he grasped his bow tightly and leaped backwards through the air.

As the ground exploded once more, he released a volley of arrow on his opponent. They were nocked aside with shameful ease, and as his opponent launched toward him, a hearty battle cry echoing from his lips, Maxwell narrowly managed to evade a downward strike from the massive axe.

His opponent sent an elbow toward his throat at speeds that defied how large his enemy. It was only thanks to his years of practice, and superior speed that he was able to dodge the strike. He attempted to strike his opponent across the throat with his bow, but he gabbed it by the end and tossed it aside easily. As it scattered across the ground, a blow to his stomach nocked the wind out of him.

As pain wracked through his torso, he heard the sound of metal slicing through the air towards him. The razor sharp edge of the axe struck his chest plate, and were followed by three more quick and powerful strikes. Two across the chest and one across the knees, he was forced backwards by a boot to his chest.

Maxwell could only groan as the edge of an axe was placed at his throat. He grunted, and the axe was pulled from his throat, replaced by a hand from his opponent.

"Marvelous fight, my boy. Certainly some things that you could do better, but considering your predicament, wonderful." His opponent told him with a slap across his back. His opponent a large man with a big grey bushy mustache and a head of full grey hair. His eyes were none existent, or were at least always squinted nearly shut. How he was capable of seeing and moving so well like that was quite a surprise.

"Well, I'm used to fighting armored opponents or things that can perform acrobatics without taking a hit." Maxwell told him. "Not someone with Aura capable of leaping across the battle field and nocking aside all my arrows like nothing. Those guns certainly aren't good for me either, Professor Port."

He glanced up at a holographic board that was somehow capable of showing him and his opponent, as well as their aura's. His was in the red, while Port's had barely been scratched, and was still in the green. He'd attempted to find out how they were made, and dismantled on in the process. Unfortunately, it was so far beyond his understanding that he had to ask Ms. Goodwitch to out it back together.

He suppressed a shudder. That conversation hadn't ended well for him when he'd told her that.

"Well, it's only been one week since your arrival here; I'd be surprised if you so suddenly adapted to our technology and had a handle on how we fight." Port told him.

Maxwell sighed. "I suppose so; I'm still not used to this whole aura thing." That was definitely something he had a hard time understanding. It protected him from what would have been killing blows without it, deflected painful shots, even enhanced his own abilities beyond what they were before. Downside was, now he had to rethink his entire approach to combat. This was all without factoring in the technological marvels that were guns.

"Give it time, lad. You'll get used to it eventually. In the mean time, just keep practicing and working out the kinks in your style. It shows that you aren't used to fighting with aura." He then glanced up toward a clock on the wall. "Ah, it seems that the bullhead with the arriving first years to be are arriving."

"You'd best be on your way to the Auditorium; don't want to miss Ozpin's greetings to them." Port patted his back. "Or, you could head to the docks and go greet the other students. It would do you some good to see who you will be living with for the next four years."

"Great idea. Thanks, Professor Port." Maxwell thanked, before slinging his bow across his shoulder and walking out the door. He'd need to restock up on his arrow, but he'd have to do that after. After he greeted some of the new students.

* * *

' _I'll never get over how those things are capable of flying'_ Who could blame him, really? The pure idea of flight was something impossible in his world, unless of course you were a Grey Warden before they went extinct. But flying around in metal machines that didn't use any sort of magic? Simply marvelous.

Of course, the fact that it was only possible through the use of some type of Dust was a bit of a downer all in all. Not by much though.

The ground shook, and he stumbled for a moment.

"What was that?"

* * *

Ruby was having a very mixed day.

Her day had started out good at first. She'd woken up, remembered that she'd been accepted into Beacon by an honest to gods LEGEND of a Hunter, proceeded to splash water in her face ti make sure she wasn't dreaming, and then was the first to arrive at the Bullhead's. Honestly, it was as though all of her dreams were coming true!

Unfortunately, then her sister found her and proceeded to embarrass her in an entire bullhead full of students, she nearly got vomit on her courtesy of Vomit Boy, her sister abandoned her, and then she tripped on some crabby girls luggage!

Oh, and she may or may not have kinda sort of maybe caused a tiny little explosion in the courtyard with said girl. It totally wasn't her fault though!

"Unbelievable!" Oh, so she was still screaming at her huh? Why did she think the explosion would have nocked her out? "This is exactly the kind of thing I was about!"

"I'm really, really sorry!" Ruby stammered, and Ruby flinched when she saw her eyes narrow at her. Somehow this made her look even scarier than before.

"You complete dolt! What are you even doing here?" The white haired girl seemed to take a moment to calm herself down. At first Ruby thought that she was going to stop yelling, but when her glare returned her hopes were dashed. "Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well I'm- I-" Ruby attempted to say.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparing and practice you know." The white haired girl interrupted as her pony-tail swayed back and forth and she crossed her arms grumpily across her chest. "We're here to fight monsters so, watch where you're going!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry princess!" Ruby was surprised at her sudden courage, but she didn't care right now. This girl was just so infuriating!

She noticed the look of anger flash through her eyes, and the way she would slightly clench her fists. Thankfully, before the yelling would happen again, someone decided to come to her rescue.

"It's heiress, actually." A smooth and calm voice interrupted. Both Ruby and the now revealed heiress turned to look at the new arrival. Long flowing black hair, leggings and high heels, white and black colored clothes, and a cute black bow to rested atop her head to top it all off.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee dust company." The black haired girl explained. As she did, Ruby could see out of the corner of her eye that Weiss was looking more and more pleased with herself as the girl droned on. "One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

Weiss had a smug grin across her face, and she held her head high when the girl seemed to finish. "Finally! Some recognition." Thankfully before Weiss could verbally abuse her again, the black haired girl decided to come to her rescue.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces, and questionable business partners." Weiss looked shocked and appalled at what black haired was saying and attempted to stammer out a response and glare at her at the same time. Needless to say, it didn't work, and Ruby couldn't contain her chuckles at the situation.

Weiss scoffed and yanked the vial of Dust from the black haired girl and stomped away with a huff. As the clack of her heels got further and further away, her poor butlers dragged her cart of luggage after her.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Weiss gave no indication that she even heard her, which caused Ruby to sigh glumly. "Guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day..." She mumbled to herself.

She then perked up and looked toward where the black haired girl was standing. "So what's-" All Ruby saw the retreating form of the black haired girl who walked away as though nothing had even happened.

Ruby collapsed to the ground with a sigh and closed her eyes. "Welcome to Beacon." She mumbled.

Great, not only had she made an enemy with a snobby rich girl, but she'd also been embarrassed in front of who knows how many people. There went her perfect start as a Huntress.

* * *

"Out of my way!" Maxwell grunted as he was shoved to the side by a rude white haired girl. Part of him wanted to go teach her some manners, but the intelligent part of him didn't want to push his luck at this school just yet. Especially if that girl was an 'Heiress'. He'd briefly listened to the argument, but for the most part he'd attempted to stay out of it.

He saw some blonde boy doing the same, before approaching the girl with a red hood. He supposed someone should help her, and he was glad that it wasn't him.

He wondered for a moment what he was supposed to do if he managed to pass whatever Professor Ozpin had planned for Initiation. He was a few years older than most other first years, but considering the power of Aura, he didn't look much older than 18 at most. He'd have to ask why it was Aura made people look much more... well, physically attractive and young when he got the chance.

His age aside, he still knew little to nothing about this world. If he was asked some of the most basic things he'd stumble and have a hard time figuring it out. Ask him about some of furthest back history of Thedas or the intricacy's of magic, and he'd be able to tell people everything they wanted off the top of his head. Ask him about anything involving recent history for Remnant, or what the White Fang's past was? He'd stumble and stammer for minutes on end.

And considering that these people were all teenagers, he got the fair assumption that he'd be singled out and labeled 'stupid' if he didn't know these things. So he'd have to remember to study this worlds history every night it was possible, if he managed to survive whatever kind of Initiation Beacon had.

Which reminded him, he needed to find the Auditorium before Ozpin's speech started.

As he passed by the blonde and red hood girl from earlier, he made a mental note to get a few more arrows from the Armory later.

* * *

"Oh gods it's happening again!" Maxwell sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why couldn't those two girls just avoid each other? Why did they have to argue and scream at the top of their lungs. Didn't they realize there were other people around them?

Oh sure, he could have moved away, if it wasn't for the dozens of people forcing him to remain rooted to his spot in the crowd without so much as any room to squirm. Which of course meant he could hear every single word uttered by these two girls. Why one was holding a piece of paper with a man on the front and the 'Dust' above him while the other looked about ready to collapse in confusion was beyond him at this point.

He did his best to tune them out and focus on the stage, silently praying to the Maker that Ozpin would make his speech about now.

For some reason he got the distinct impression he was being insulted by the white haired girl who was currently pointing at him and Blondie.

"I'll... keep this brief." Ozpin started off. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you've finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose; direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you, to take the first step."

Well that was... certainly not what he expected. Definitely a way to make your students both depressed and inspired at the same time, that was for sure.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins ; be ready." Professor Goodwitch instructed them all. "You are dismissed."

Well, he supposed this wasn't to bad. Sleeping in a ballroom with an unknown number of hormonal teenagers shouldn't be a problem at all for him, least of all considering how he'd be surrounded by people who each had their own story, or how he'd want to learn everything about this world-

Ok he was doomed. Not a chance he'd be able to make it through the night without something happening. Whether his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to bother some people with questions, especially the or the Anchor suddenly acted up out of nowhere then there was no way he'd be able to keep it under raps.

Maxwell sighed. "Ah well, I suppose I'll just have to wing it and hope for the best." As the students all began filing out of the ballroom and through the auditorium doors to do who knows what until the evening, he let his mind wander for a few moments. For some reason, he couldn't help feeling that there was still work to do, and that since he wasn't there that the world was in terrible danger. He didn't knowhow or why, but that thought just wouldn't leave his mind.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Maxwell shook his head and glanced around. He was on the ground now, and across from him was a boy with orange hair and indigo eyes. Adorned across his body was a set of silver armor with a gold trim, and the emblem across his breastplate was a golden bird with its wings outstretched.

And currently, the boy was glaring at him. "Um, sorry there. I wasn't paying much attention."

The boy grunted and stood up, dusting himself off. "It's fine, I guess." He then offered him a hand up. Blinking, he was hoisted up by the boy. His grip was strong, he noted. "Say, what's your name?"

"Maxwell Trevelyan, it's a nice to meet you. Who are you?"

"Name's Cardin Winchester buddy; nice to meet you." Cardin titled his head to the side. "Hey, have you heard that there's gonna be an Initiation?"

Maxwell nodded. "Yeah, I heard about that. I'm not to concerned about it though." A lie, but he wasn't about to let someone who could possibly be a teammate of his in the future know he was afraid of a simple initiation.

"Really? You must be pretty confidant in your abilities if you're not concerned with Initiation." Cardin grinned. "Looks like we're alike there. I'll cut you a deal; if we meet up in whatever this Initiation turns out to he, I'll watch your back if you watch mine. After all, two bad asses like us should stick together."

Maxwell chuckled and stuck his hand out. "Alright, I suppose I can do that."

Cardin slung his arm over Maxwell's shoulder. "Awesome. So, you wanna come with me? I've gotta meet my friend Russell in the ballroom, and I'd love to introduce you to him."

"Um, sure, I guess that's ok."

"Great. Now, follow me."

Well, this Cardin guy was nice, he supposed, if a bit arrogant. He'd probably mellow out, given time. Still, for now Maxwell would go with him and meet this friend of his.

After all, the more people he knew here, the better off he'd be in getting better accumulated to this world.

* * *

Jaune Arc was having an awesome day so far.

He'd gotten on the bullhead to Beacon surrounded by dozens of other Hunter-in-training, met an adorable, nice and quirky girl named Ruby, met her blonde vixen of a sister, and gotten to meet ne of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen, Weiss Schnee.

Of course, he'd been airsick on the bullhead, and coupling that with all the anxiety and stress he felt from the past few weeks, he had been a nervous wreck, which had made hiding his secret from his family almost impossible.

Good news was though, he'd managed to successfully hide it from them, and had tricked them into thinking he was going to a school of the musical arts!

Not his finest moment, sure, but it had worked, and now he could pursue his dream of being a Hunter. And all he had to do was make it through some kind of Initiation that was probably just some type of oath ceremony or test. Should be easy enough, since he knew everything there was to know about Hunters.

Now, where was he supposed to sleep? Most of the ballroom was taken up and split into different sides, or more specifically, gender-based. Why the faculty thought it would be a good idea to put both boys and girls in the same room for the night may not have made sense to him, he certainly wasn't complaining.

He sat down in one of the corners and leaned back against the wall. Everything was set, his sleeping bag was laid out, his onesie was nice and warm, and his book was set for an hour of reading.

The second he picked up his book, something hit his eye. "Ow!" glancing to the side and blinking, he picked up a crumpled piece of paper. He glanced up and saw a small group of boys with unbelievably well toned chests laughing and pointing at him.

Well this was just great, now he had to deal with a bunch of bullies here, in a school of Hunter's who could probably man handle him without much effort. At least until he started his intense training plan, then he'd for sure be able to take them on!

The sound of yelling and fighting drew all of their attention to a small, secluded corner. Ruby and her sister Yang were fighting each other, drawing up a big cloud of dust, an arm or a leg occasionally sticking out of it as the sound of their arguing echoed out across the entire ballroom. Behind it, a girl with a black bow awkwardly looked on as though unsure of what to do.

"What in the world is going on over here!?" The white haired girl who'd shown interest in him early screeched. As she did, Ruby and Yang stopped fighting just as Ruby got a hold of Yang's foot. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep- OH NO NOT YOU AGAIN!" Both Ruby's sister and the white haired girl exclaimed.

What began soon afterwards could only be accurately described as a Cat Fight without any physical fighting. It even had a small crowd cheering them on in the form of that group of boys from before, along with a dozen or so other students each taking sides. They were all taking bets as well, goading the two girls into a fight.

He couldn't deny that seeing a Cat Fight was on his bucket list.

One of the boys from earlier, one of the few that looked a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation signed and walked over to the trio of arguing girls.

"Would you three please be quiet-"

"Stay out of this!" The two girls exclaimed, before looking at each other. "Stop repeating what I say!"

"Stop that!" This all seemed to do nothing but aggravate him by the look on his face, and the way he slightly clenched his fists.

"That's enough!" The brown haired boy. "Both of you be quiet, right now! There are people trying to sleep and relax for the night that can't because you two won't stop yelling.

"How dare-" The white haired girl attempted before she was cut off.

"No, you be quiet. Both of you are going to go lye down, keep your mouths shut, and not make anymore noise for the night. Am I clear?" The glare he leveled at the two of them was fierce, and seemed to be more than enough to make them back down.

With what looked like a grumble, the two stalked back to where their beds had been, Yang dragging her sister Ruby with her. The black haired girl sighed from what he could see and thanked the boy, before closing her book and blowing out her candle.

"Guess I might as well get some sleep." Jaune mumbled to himself as everything calmed down, and even the boys from before laid down to go to sleep.

The last thing on his mind, was how he'd open up with that White haired girl.

' _Hmmm... Snow Angel should work.'_

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, what'd you guys think? Did you enjoy it? Let me know, because I plan for Initiation to be an awesome thing for New Years Eve. Oh, and please Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, etc.**

 **Oh, and I've got a new Poll up on my profile: Should I have Maxwell stick with the team he gets for Initiation, or should I bring characters from Dragon Age that won't be missed? Please do let me know.**

 **Anyway, don't forget to Favorite, Follow, Check out my other stories, and Review. Ciao.**


	5. Initiation: Part 1

**Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm back with yet another chapter for you all! How've you all been recently? I hope you've been good, and if not, that everything gets better soon. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and let me know what you think of it.**

 **Disclaimer: I own neither RWBY or Dragon Age. They each belong to their respective companies.**

* * *

Cardin yawned as he stumbled to his feet and stretched his limbs. He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to rid them of his drowsiness, and he could hear the sound of early risers eagerly talking to each other and waking those around them. Their boundless energy was enough to make him physically sick in every way.

Around him, he noticed a dozen other boys all groaning and shooing them away. One girl in particular was prancing and dancing around one boy who just seemed to want to die. He felt for him, he really did. How he had the patience not to scream at her was something to envy.

"Make the voices stop." Maxwell groaned into the ground. Poor guy; it seemed he was one of those heavy sleepers. This must have been horrible for him to endure. At least that boy from before was kiting the hyper girl out of the ballroom. He'd have to thank him somehow. Maxwell groaned from below him.

Huh, so he was still sleeping? He couldn't have that. He lightly kicked him in the back.

His eyes fluttered open and he groaned. None the less, he stretched and stood up, somehow sounding both miserable and energetic at the same time. Not that he'd ever tell the guy, but he was a little strange. Oh, physically his body was perfectly normal, he didn't know the guy well enough to say anything about his personality, and his armor was in good condition as well, just like his. Only strange thing, and incidentally the thing that made Cardin take an interest in him in the first place, was his eyes. They were two colors, the right eye was silver-ish, while the other was dark brown.

He'd heard that it was a pretty rare thing to have two eye colors, but it was always one of those random, insignificant facts that he filed away for later.

"Come on, get up. We have to get prepared for Initiation, remember?"

"Yeah... just give me a moment to wake up." Maxwell mumbled.

"Sure, whatever. Just get moving, we've only got about an hour to prepare for the thing." He told the still tired boy. He was ushered away by Maxwell and out of the ballroom. That was fine by him, least the guy was up and wouldn't oversleep.

Now he just had to find out where Russel went. Bastard was always rushing off without him so often that he feared what would happen were the two of them cornered by Grimm.

* * *

"Wonder what those two were so worked up about." Ruby's eyes ran through her locker once more as her hands patted down her waist. Her ammo was all there, Crescent Rose was shined and resting firmly within her locker, and it's blade was nice and sharp. She was absolutely ready for whatever this Initiation entailed.

"Oh who knows; so, you seem awfully chipper this morning." Yang asked her.

"Yep; no more awkward small talk or getting to know you stuff." She giggled despite herself and wrapped her hands around her baby. She brought it close to her chest and smiled. "Today I get to let my sweetheart do the talking."

And honestly, that was where she was at her best; horrible in a social environment she may be, but put her on a battlefield with her baby, and she'd show everyone how awesome she was.

"Just remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through Initiation." She lectured. "If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."

Great, so she was gonna get this talk again? From her sister of all people?

"You sound just like dad." Her sweetheart banged against the inside of the locker. "First of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up, I drink milk."

"But what about when we form teams?"

Drat, she'd forgotten that she was supposed to be on a team, and that in turn would require her to speak with people: her one weakness!

"I-I don't know; I guess I'll just be on your team." After all, who else could she be on a team with? She didn't know many people here, and most of them didn't seem that nice. She supposed there was Jaune, but he didn't seem to be very good in a fight; there was always Blake as well, but she didn't seem to be very social; that crabby girl, Weiss was entirely out of the question; there was also that boy with the two eye colors from last night, but he seemed a bit mean, and simnce those were all the people she knew, that just left her sister who would of course let her be on her-

"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team..."

How dare she!

"My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me!?"

"What- no that's ridiculous!" Yang shouted at the same time as Jaune. Her eyes followed him as he walked off toward Weiss and some red headed girl, but they quickly darted back to her sister who looked like a deer in headlights.

"Look, Ruby, it's not that I don't want you as a teammate, it's just that-"

"Um, excuse me." A voice interrupted her sister. Yang seemed to internally sigh as she was saved, and they both turned toward the source of the voice.

Standing before them was the boy from last night who had stormed over and yelled at them. He looked a bit uncomfortable being there, and he shifted in place every few moments. Across his back was a beautiful, ornate recurve bow that looked as though it was from another time. Most bows that she'd seen were sleek and elegant, with an emphasis on utility and pure combat usage. This one however, was almost entirely different. For starters, it looked to be made almost entirely of wood, and three long spikes of wood protruded near the ends of the bow.

It took every ounce of her willpower not to fawn over it then and there.

"Oh, it's you." Yang drawled. "What do you want?"

"Well, two things." The boy began. "First, I'd like to apologize for yelling at you two last night."

Yang blinked. "Oh."

"I realize that I was a bit harsh and could've handled that a lot better than I did. I was simply tired, and took my frustration at being kept up on the people doing it, i.e you." The boy stated. "Once again, I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's no problem. We're sorry for being so loud last night and keeping you, and everybody else, up." Yang told the boy with a smile.

He smiled back at her. "Thank you for understanding."

"So, what was the other thing you needed to say?" Ruby questioned with a tilt of her head.

"Could you quiet down? The whole locker-room can hear you." Ruby blushed and glanced around the room. It was true, people were staring at them with varying degrees of annoyance, or at least trying to ignore them.

"Um, sorry, we'll try and keep it down." She apologized. Yang nodded along with her to show she would as well.

"Thank you." He responded. "Oh, and my name's Maxwell Trevelyan."

"Nice to meet ya, Maxwell. I'm Yang, and this is my adorable baby sister, Ruby." Ruby felt her sisters arm wrap around her waist and pull her tight into a hug.

"Yang, let me go!" Despite her best efforts, her sister had an iron grip and wouldn't let her go despite how much she struggled. It actually seemed to make her hold on tighter, and a low whine escaped her lips as she desperately tried to escape.

He turned and began to walk away, but glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, and by the way Red, you'll want to find some people who you can work with on your team in order to fight better."

"Would all first year students please report to Beacon cliff for Initiation? Again, all first year students, report to Beacon cliff immediately." Ms. Goodwitch's voice over the comm system broke Ruby from her stupor, and she grabbed Crescent Rose from her locker and started to walk toward the cliffs.

* * *

Ozpin must have thought him a fool if he didn't think he wouldn't figure out what they were doing at the cliffs.

Oh sure, it may have looked innocent enough to the rest of the students here with him, but he wasn't so dumb; he'd built traps almost exactly like these damn platforms they were standing on, as they were required apparently. Honestly, how they hadn't figured out yet that they were going to be forcibly launched from the cliff into the forest below was beyond him.

It may have just been because he had experience in building these sorts of things, but there was quite honestly no other situation in which they would be required to be here, standing on metal launch pads.

Though he would admit, the craftsmanship was amazing, as was every single piece of technology this world seemed to have. Honestly, he was still a bit overwhelmed by it all.

Around a dozen or so other students seemed to be gathered here at cliffs with him, and in all honestly, he was a bit uncomfortable.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors." Ozpin began. "Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Well, he had already done that, but he supposed this would be a good way to see how he fared against the Grimm now that he had his capabilities enhanced by Aura.

"Now, I'm sure that many of you have heard about the assignment of teams." Ms. Goodwitch tapped the terribly named device called a scroll, within her arms. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."

Maxwell heard the girl with the hood complain next to him.

"Your teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon." Ozpin stated. "So it is in your best interest to paired with someone whom you work well."

The girl groaned again.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."

"What!?" The girl shouted, and he had half a mind to join her. Those two statements he just made were completely contradictory, and not only that, set things up for complete and disaster later on. If two people didn't have any good chemistry at all and were partnered up, then chances were very high that they'd get themselves and thei other teammates killed in the process.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."

It was at this point that Maxwell was absolutely sure that Ozpin was solely doing this depress his students before he threw them off the cliff.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your Initiation, but our instructors will not intervene."

Well wasn't that just great, so then if anyone were to get in a dangerous situation then they'd either have to fight their way out or die trying. In theory, that was the best way to find the strongest and best candidates, but in practice, potentially skilled fighters could die if faced with something beyond their skill.

"You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics." Ozpin paused for a moment, before continuing. "Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

The blonde boy raised his hand, and was promptly ignored by everyone.

"Good, take your positions."

Well, shit. He didn't have any 'position' for being thrown through the air, so he just unslung his bow prepared both his body and mind for what would come next. He just hoped that it didn't end in his death.

Students began to launch through the air one after another and somehow not scream. Maxwell took a deep breath and nocked an arrow on his bow. He hoped that his plan worked, and that he didn't die.

"Oh, so you'll be handing out parachutes or something?" The blonde haired boy questioned. He wanted to reach over there and smack him for how oblivious the boy was being that he somehow didn't notice the half a dozen and counting people that wee flying through the air.

"Woooohooo!" The blonde haired girl, Yang he remembered, screamed as she flew through the air. He felt himself being launched before he heard the gears move. He was propelled with enough force send someone through a Dwarven made stone wall, and he just barely managed to hold onto his bow. It was time to put his plan into effect.

Behind him, he could hear what sounded like the blonde boy screaming.

* * *

"I'm already hating this Initiation." Cardin mumbled to himself. Water dripped from his hair and his clothes beneath his armor clung his soaked body. He'd landed in a lake a bit of ways back, and he'd not so much as landed in the pool of water, as he had crashed and nearly sunk to the bottom of the lake. Thankfully he was a strong swimmer.

Now he just had to find a partner that wouldn't drive him to crazy, wasn't a complete moron, and could actually hold their own in a fight. He wasn't particularly picky, but there were some that he just knew he wouldn't be able to stand for very long; a Faunus was a definite no, and those girls who wouldn't shut up last night were also a definite no. Though they were easy on the eyes...

In truth, it'd be best if he was paired up with his friend Russel, or maybe that guy Maxwell. He hardly knew the latter, but something about him was... different, in a good way. The way the man moved, how he talked, they way he carried himself; they all gave the impression that he knew what he was doing.

In a certain way, it reminded him of those old heroes from tales of gallant knights and draconic Grimm; of how the hero could always triumph in the face of opposition by simple force of will and always managed to get the beautiful princess in the end. He'd loved those old fairy tales when he was younger, but as he grew older he stopped reading them and instead focused on real issues of the world.

His point, his mind reminded himself as he trekked through the forest, was that the guy looked as though he had quite literally jumped out of one of those old fairy tales, what with the weapon he'd seen and the armor the guy wore.

He was broken from his train of thought by the sound of feet against the forest floor. He narrowed his eyes and gripped his mace within the palm of his hands. As quietly as possible, he maneuvered himself behind a tree. As the footsteps drew near, he raised his mace above his shoulder and tightened his grip on his mace. He swung his mace toward the source of the footsteps when they were right in front of him.

"Whoa, hey!" The figure shouted. It managed to just barely avoid his mace swing, and it back flipped away. It's foot managed to catch the bottom of his chin, and he stumbled back with a grunt. He heard the sound of metal being drawn from their sheaths, and he looked closer at the figure that he'd attacked.

"Russel?"

"Cardin?" The green haired boy lowered his daggers and grinned at him. "It's great to see you man!" He lowered his daggers and walked toward him, prompting Cardin to do the same.

"Looks like we're partners Russel." He patted his friend on the back and motioned to the way Russel came from. "Come on, the ruins are that way."

"They are? Damn it, I can't believe I was going the wrong way." Russel groaned as he followed after Cardin.

The two partners silently trekked through the forest, combating small groups of Grimm as they came across them. For the most part the Initiation had been easy so far, barring the whole landing strategy part. That had been the hardest and most unpleasant part so far, but perhaps that was just because of his own skill. After all, it only took one hit from his mace to kill most Grimm.

Cardin entertained himself by taking note of Russel's own skill. It'd been some time since the two of them had seen each other, and it appeared s though Russel had improved his own skill since last they'd seen each other. The main flaws in his fighting style still existed, but his stamina and skill with his blades were definitely superior to last time he'd seen him.

He'd need to have a spare with him next chance he got to see how the two of them compared to each other.

Gunfire could be heard in the distance, accompanied by the sounds of the growls and cries of Grimm.

"Should uh- should we go help those people?" The nervousness in Russel's voice was obvious, and Cardin couldn't help but shove him along.

"Come on, Russel; time to show off our skill to some of our fellow Hunter's-in-training." Cardin ran off ahead of Russel without waiting for a reply, though he could hear the not so distant complaints from Russel, and his hurried steps to keep up with him.

The two of them emerged in a clearing packed with nearly 2 dozen Beowolve's. The Grimm were all dashing around the clearing and circling two boys desperately fending them off. They dodged and weaved around the Beowolve's powerful strikes and leaps, striking at them whenever possible. Their coordination was astounding, keeping the two boys on the defensive for the most part. The boys own coordination was underwhelming, getting in each others way when they went to attack, and hitting each other when attempting to defend themselves.

Cardin grunted under his breath. "Come on Russel, time to shine."

The Beowolve's didn't know what hit them. The first unfortunate Grimm to fall to his mace barely managed to dodge the bullets fired from the blonde boys sword, only to be rocketed forward and barrel through more Grimm. The surprise that came upon the boys faces was immediate, but soon forgotten as they leapt upon the opportunity to counter-attack.

Cardin raised his mace above his head and brought it down upon the ground, sending out a series of explosions into a group of Beowolve's charging towards him. He smirked as he saw them all go flying in multiple directions. As their bodies flew through the air and disintegrated, he blocked a swipe from his right and turned toward the Beowolf. He twisted his arm and trapped the Grimm's claws between his mace and armor. He then spun and threw it into another Grimm, nocking them toward the blue haired boy.

The boy leapt backwards with suprising ease, and as the two grim rolled toward him, he brought his Halberd down upon their necks. As their bodies began to dissipate, another Grimm leapt at him too fast for him dodge. Without even attempting to raise his Halberd, he angled his Halberd toward it and pulled something along the side of it. The Beowolve's head exploded into bits, and the blue haired boy managed to roll away from its tumbling corpse before he could be caught beneath it. He was thrown into a tree however when a massive Beowolf hit him from behind.

The massive Beowolf let out a roar, and the others all roared as well, fighting with even more ferocity than before. Cardin eyed the Beowolf and raised his Mace. Russel and the blonde boy rushed up next to him.

"What do we do Cardin?" Russel fidgeted in place and glanced around them. Cardin understood that completely, as they were still heavily outnumbered, and outgunned, by the still large pack before them.

Cardin took a deep breath and pressed the button on his Mace's shaft. "Russel, you think you have enough energy to get behind them?"

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll be able to without being mauled to death by that horde in front of us." Said horde was getting closer and closer to them, only kept at bay by the blonde boys carefully placed shots just at the edge of their feet.

"Well, I'm gonna make a dash toward them ad I want you to use my shoulders to vault behind them."

"You sure that's gonna work?" The blonde boy's eyes never left the horde in front of them.

"Of course it will; Grimm won't be able to react fast enough to adapt to what I have in mind." Cardin glanced toward him. "What's your name?"

"Dove; my partner over there is Sky."

"Ok, Dove, you and I are gonna charge into the horde and deal with the majority of the Grimm. You think you can handle fighting that many at once?"

Dove sent Cardin a flat stare. "Yes." Sky came stumbling back toward the three of them with a dazed and pained expression on his face. He clutched his Halberd tightly in his hands and grunted as he came to a stop next to them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sky step behind Dove once he saw the horde inching closer and closer by the second.

"Sky, you're staying back here and sniping at them. Think you can handle that?" Sky nodded and raised his Halberd, resting it against his shoulder He heard the sigh of relief that emanated from the boys lips but ignored it for now. He gripped his mace in both of his hands and smirked at the Grimm before him. "Ok... Go!"

Cardin, Russel, and Dove charged at the Grimm just as the Beowolve's lunged toward them. Russel skidded to a stop and let Cardin pass him. As He and Dove met the horde, he spun and slammed his mace down upon a Beowolve's head. An explosion of fire emanated from his mace like before, only this time it sent the Grimm skidding back from the shockwave, and lighting the closest ones on fire. For a brief moment, he felt Russel's feet on hi shoulders, but seconds later they were gone and he could see him spinning through the air and land behind the horde.

He sidestepped a Beowolve's downward slash and blocked another's bite by shoving his mace into its gaping maws. He elbowed the Beowolf to his left in the throat and sent it reeling backwards, before he ripped his mace out of the Beowolve's mouth without wasting a moment jabbed it with the pommel. Not a secnd later the Grimm was sent exploding backwards and into another Beowolf. Twisting his hand, he spun around and sent another into the air with an upward strike across its chest. Raising it above his shoulders, he smacked a trio of Beowolve's across their faces and obliterated their heads and sent their bodies flying backwards. A body slumped to the ground behind him, and he glanced backwards to see Sky firing into the quickly diminishing horde.

Out of the corner of his eye he just barely managed to see a massive, bone covered paw come flying toward him and raise his mace to block it. It sent out a sgockwave across the field and creating cracks in the ground. He cold feel his muscles straining beneath the amount of strength in the Aplha Beowolf's strikes.

The alpha stood above him and let out a growl before raising its other paw above its head. It's concentration was broken when bullets bounced off of its bone armor and it glanced over its shoulder toward Dove. Cardin seized this slight reprieve and kneed the Grimm in the groin. Pushing it back as it howled in pain, he smacked it away with a powerful strike across the ribs.

He panted and glanced around him to see how the others were doing, and he was surprised, but not unhappy, with the results he was seeing.

Dove was showing extreme skill with his blade as he fended off a group of Beowolve's that kept relentlessly lunging and swiping at him. Every time they would jump through the air, he would spin-flip around them and stab between the gaps in their armor. He would block their strikes and redirect their bodies away from him, before seizing the opportunity to land killing blows. When their numbers had been reduced to one and only an injured one remained, he managed to lop its head off in one swing of his sword.

Russel was also doing incredibly to Cardin's surprise. An alarming amount of Grimm had decided to attack his friend, but instead of running like he'd thought he would, he stayed to fight them. Whether this was because he was trapped he couldn't tell.

He flipped above their heads and cartwheeled around their strikes; severed necks and unleashed devastating cuts onto their bodies. The Grimm feel beneath his strikes and he danced around theirs with practiced ease. As two attempted to attack him from opposite sides at the same time, he threw one of his daggers into the eye socket of ones skull mask. He celebrated to early however as the Grimm from his other side tackled him to the ground and began furiously snapping its jaws at the struggling boy. He used the blunt side of his blade to keep the monster at bay, but nothing he did could get the creature off of him.

"Russel!" Cardin and Dove raced toward Russel with their weapons raised in a mad dash. Before they could reach him however, the Grimm's head exploded in a mess of red gore and its bode slumped on top of Russel.

Cardin pushed the already disintegrating corpse off of his friend and offered him a hand up. "Thanks." Russel went to retrieve his dagger as the boys all walked back toward Sky, who looked absolutely ecstatic that the fight was over now.

"So," Russel panted and rested his hands on his knees. "we should probably get back underway to the ruins, huh?" Cardin and the others all grunted in agreement and began to walk out the clearing with pained expressions on their faces, but grins nonetheless.

A growl from behind them however stopped them dead in their tracks and they all turned to see the Alpha Beowolf stood before them with its armor cracked and dented, but alive.

Sky gulped. "So... it's not dead huh?"

"Doesn't look like it." Dove loaded another round of ammo into his sword and held it in front of him angled toward the Grimm.

"Hey, three's four of us and one of him. This should be a piece of cake." Despite this, Cardin swore beneath his breath at the fact it was still alive. Alpha Grimm were all considered the most dangerous of their species, and with good reason. They were stronger, faster, smarter, and could take much more of a beating than their lesser relatives.

"Let's just get this over with!" Russel rushed on ahead, followed by Dove and Sky not far behind. Cardin swore beneath his breath but followed anyway. They may not have had a plan, but they may not need one if it was injured enough.

Russel and Dove dashed at it from opposite sides and slashed at its armored body to no avail. Sky raised his Halberd above his head and spun around one of its downwards strikes and brought the blade of his weapon to the back of its knee. The cracking of armor was heard throughout the clearing, followed by a howl of pain. The Alpha reared its head back and roared, before spinning around with a surprising amount of agility and backhand swiped Sky away. Russel jumped onto its back and raised his daggers above his head, before quickly bringing them down onto the cracks in its shoulder armor in a quick and frantic pattern. As this happened, Dove began firing a seemingly endless amount of bullets at the monsters face mask.

With its eyes blinded and unable to focus clearly, it let out an animalistic roar and lunged toward Dove and Cardin They both jumped out of its way, and recovered just in time to see the Alpha angle its back forward and crash into a tree.

Russel let out a cry in pain, before he was thrown across the ground by the Aplha's clawed paws.

"Dove, go low!" Cardin rushed toward the Alpha with a cry emanating from his lips, and attempted to smask it across the face and smash its head. It managed to block this, but not the slash across its weakened chest, nor could it stop the sword that pierced its bone armor and protruded through its back. It raised both of its paws above its head and brought them down upon Cardin's mace. While it's blows were still powerful, he could feel its own strength getting weaker by the second.

The Alpha jerked its clawed paws to the side and threw his mace from his hands. "What!?" He was thrown back by the creature paws and into Dove. As the two of them tumbled back, bullets impacted the Alpha's body and sent it stumbling backwards. Dove stood up and made a mad dash for the Alpha, and Cardin made a run for his Mace not far from the Grimm.

Dove ducked beneath the Alpha's slow and clumsy swing. He gripped his sword by the hilt and yanked it free from the Grimm spun around it. He made two weak, tired slashes against the Grimm's exposed back that made shallow cuts across its back. He narrowly dodged the Alpha's swipe, only to be picked up by the back of his armor and hurled toward Sky. The two of them flew backwards into a tree dazed and in pain.

"Just die already!" Cardin raised his mace over his shoulders and slammed on the button on his shaft. With all of his strength, he smashed it across the Alpha's chest and set it aflame, exploding it backwards through the tree with its chest caved in.

He dropped his mace and let it hit the ground with a clatter, and he fell backwards in an eagle spread. At first, only a chuckle escaped from his lips, but slowly it evolved into full blown laughter that echoed throughout that forest. Russel, Dove, and Sky all limped towards him and helped pick him up off the ground.

"So, this is what it's gonna be like as a Hunter huh?" Cardin grinned. "I can't wait for what the future holds!" Despite the pain they must have been feeling, the people surrounding him all laughed and grinned as well.

He smiled at them all and hoped that they'd all be on a team together. He may have hardly known Dove and Sky, but they were good fighters, and seemed like they'd get along great with him and Russel.

They all began to slowly stalk out of the clearing and deeper into the forest, their weapons at their side and smiles across their face.

"Behind you!" Without even thinking, he listened to the voice and spun around with his mace in one hand. It struck the somehow still alive Alpha Beowolf across the face and caused its flaming head to go flying off into the forest. It's body slumped to the ground, finally dead for sure.

"Ok, who was that?" Cardin panted.

"Up here!" The four boys walked into the middle of the clearing and looked up into the tree top to see someone hanging upside down by branches.

"Maxwell? What are you doing up there?"

* * *

"Maxwell, what are you doing up there?" Cardin's voice from below caused Maxwell to angle his head downwards.

"Well, my landing strategy didn't seem to work. Last thing I remember is racing towards these trees and then nothing." Were it not for his recently unlocked Aura, and these convenient vines, chances were high that he'd have died.

"So wait a minute, you've been up there this entire time and didn't do anything to help us!?" A green haired boy exclaimed from below.

"I just woke up; first thing I saw was the four of you walking away with an incredibly damaged Beowolf stalking behind you all."

"Oh." The green haired boy stated. "You want some help getting down?"

"I'd appreciate it." Cardin gestured toward the green haired boy to step forward. He raised his daggers and threw them toward the vines holding him up. As soon as the were all cut, he fell from the tree and onto the ground below.

He grunted as he stood up. "So, I'm guessing that you're all partners?"

Cardin nodded. "Yeah, sorry Maxwell. If you want, you can come with us to the ruins. We shouldn't be to far from them now."

Maxwell stretched his limbs and nodded. "Right, let's go then." He paused as he took in their appearance. They didn't look particularly good, they had bruises along their body and dents in their armor, and were panting beneath their breath as well. He shook his head and reached into his pocket, taking out four small, red vials.

"Drink these."

"What are they?" The blue haired boy questioned, but nonetheless took it with the others.

"A little something I made myself. It should deal with the injuries your currently feeling." Then again, it could also do nothing or make it worse. He had no idea how potions would react when someone had Aura.

The four of them all shared a look, but nodded and drank away anyway. Almost immediately, the bruises that covered their body disappeared and they stopped panting. They all looked inquisitively at their bodies and each other in wonder. Cardin let out a laugh and patted Maxwell's back.

"I don't know what you just gave us, but thanks! Now we'll be able to make it back to Beacon Cliffs without looking like we almost died."

"We should probably get moving if we wanna get back before nightfall." The blonde one suggested.

Maxwell and the others nodded and they began trekking through the forest. As they did, Maxwell wondered how they'd know what the correct ruins were, and what the artifacts would be that they had to achieve.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Aaaaand done! So, what'd you guys think? Did you like the fight scene at the end? Please do let me know in the reviews.**

 **Also, I'm pretty sure that most of you know where I'm going to have Maxwell end up, but for those that don't, I won't spoil anything. What I will do, is tell you that things are only gonna get better from here on out. Also, for those of you wondering, the Alpha Beowolf was something of a mini-boss Grimm for CRDL to fight before the ruins. Sorry there wasn't much Maxwell in this chapter, but this is only part 1. Next part will feature much more of him, along with an awesome three team VS. three giant Grimm battle.**

 **Anyway, don't forget to Favorite, Follow, and leave a Review! Also, there's a new poll up on my profile for you all to vote on!**

 **Bye!**


	6. Initiation: Part 2

**Authors Note: Hello everyone, it's great to see you all again! How've you been? Me, I've been wonderful since last chapter, if a bit busy with life making me unable to write. But, with this slight reprieve, I'm seizing this writing opportunity. To address some things, my RBY reacts stories are being written as well, but to due their length and the fact that in one I have an entire side story, they'll take a bit longer than this would.**

 **Also, to address the concerns some of you may be having, there's a few things I want you all to know. First, I know that there doesn't seem to be much going on story-wise, but that's intentional. In the original I tried to bring story to the foreground and what came out was a sloppy mess with little sense of direction. This time, I plan to focus on setting things up at the start and investing you guys in the story more. To simplify, the story will come into place more around the end of canonical Volume 1.**

 **And second, the position of Beta is still open. I could really use someone to help with certain things in the future, if any of you are willing.**

 **Anyway, on with the story.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I own neither RWBY or Dragon Age. They each belong to their respective companies.**

* * *

"So where are you from, Maxwell?" Maxwell and the group of boys all trekked through woods making idle conversation with one another. The boys would all question each other and bicker with one another. The questions ranged from where they all came from to where they were taught. He for the most part just tuned it all out to focus on the path in front of him, and keep his ears open for any sounds of Grimm.

At least until Russel decided to drag him into their conversation. And worst of all, it couldn't have been something as convenient as who trained him or how he made those potions. Granted, it was probably simple to them, inconsequential in the grand scheme of things and a starting point for getting to know him. But to him? It was one of the hardest questions he could have been asked.

At least Ozpin had prepared a backstory for him and made him memorize it.

"I'm from Patch, an island off the coast of Vale."

"Really? What's it like? I've wanted to visit there with my family for a long time." Of course the green-haired bastard had to go and ask that question. Now he had to remember the vague description Ozpin had given him about the island.

"Well, it's very peaceful." Maxwell started. "There's a lot of unused land on the island that makes it a perfect place for cottages or small family homes to be built. The people are nice and live simple lives as well, in virtually no danger at all of being attacked by any Grimm. From what from what I hear, there's even a few Huntsman who call the island their home. Most people live in the one city on the island, though me and a lot of others from what I hear live on our own plots of land. The city doesn't sound too bad from what I've heard and saw on my brief trip into it when I left, but it's nothing compared to Vale."

Oh Maker how he hoped they wouldn't ask for any more specifics beyond that; anymore and he'd have to start making things up.

Cardin grinned and rested his hands behind his head. "Well, you'll have to show us around the place if we ever get the chance to take a vacation. I'd love to see this place." That got nods of agreement from the rest of his traveling companions.

He coughed. "Well, now that we've talked about where I come from, how about all of you?" He said in an attempt to move the conversation away from him.

"Well, me and Russell are from downtown Vale." Cardin began. "We pretty much grew up together in downtown Vale; it's nice as far as Vale itself goes, but it's nothing like the uppercase parts of the city. Where they have big houses, porcelain dishes, and the police on speed-dial, we pretty much lived like everyone else and had modest lives. It was nice though, a great neighborhood to grow up in actually."

"I'm from pretty much the same place, though I've never met any of these three before." Sky added.

"Same here." Dove said. Maxwell nodded along to each of their responses, though he only listened to Cardin's since it was the most detailed.

"How much longer do you guys think it'll take us to reach the ruins?" Sky suddenly asked.

"At most it'll probably take an hour or so to reach." Dove told him. "Though we'll probably reach the ruins before then. Either way, it shouldn't take us long." He looked toward the sky toward the bright sun and squinted his eyes.

"Hey, what do you guys think the relics could be?" Russel pondered. "Me personally, I'm guessing they're some kind of jewels that'll be used to decide what partners are paired up."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Sky agreed. "Though I think it might be figurines of animals to determine what teams we're put on."

"There's always the chance it could be antique weaponry. After all, it could also help determine what use the teams would be best suited to being deployed as depending on what weapons they choose." Dove added.

"How about you, Maxwell? Any idea what it could be?" Cardin asked.

Maxwell had to think on this. All of those ideas were pretty good as far as relics went in this situation. Honestly, jewels would be easy enough, just pair partners up who had the same one; animal figurines were just as easy, since you could have similar animals related to one another to help determine what team you'd be on; weapons were the easiest and most likely of the three, especially the part about determining how they'd be used.

"Chess pieces are a possibility." He finally offered. "There's always two of each piece per color, they each have different functions, and they can easily be used as a guideline to decide how to use the teams."

They all nodded along. "I guess we'll just have to see once we reach the ruins."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something race across his field of vision, just behind the trees and out of sight. He held up his hand and motioned for them to stop. He slowly reached across his back and gripped his bow within his hands. He heard the unsheathing of everyone's weapons, and he mentally began tracking the figures movements.

It was moving too fast for him to make out a definite shape, but from the brief glances he managed to get, he knew the things was small compared to most Grimm. And fast too, if the fact it was capable of remaining unrecognizable with five pairs of eyes trained on it was any indication.

"What do you think it is?" Russel spun the Dust revolvers on his two daggers and fingered in place.

"I don't know." Maxwell replied. "But we've got two options. We can either go after it and kill the monster, or-"

"Or we can run as fast as we can to the ruins and hope it doesn't follow us." Cardin interrupted. He grunted and rested his mace on his shoulders, tracing his thumb along the shaft of his weapon. "Yeah, we're killing this thing. I'm not a big fan of our chances of having some Grimm follow us all the way to the ruins."

Dove nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it should be simple enough. One lone Grimm, even an unknown one, shouldn't be too hard to deal with. Or at least not this one. Only giant and Alpha Grimm are powerful on their own, but since this is Initiation, I doubt there's nothing a team shouldn't be capable of handling."

Maxwell nodded at the sensible answers. "Well then, let's catch up to it before it disappears."

Maxwell and his group ran after the dark figure as quickly as they could. It didn't seem to show any sign that it knew they were chasing after it, but that set him on edge. With how large their group was and how much noise their armor was making, you'd have thought that it would have noticed them and attacked. Instead it seemed as though it hadn't even heard them and kept travelling at the same speed it had been.

It may have been nothing, but he had a bad feeling about this.

"It's gone!" Sky's shout shook him from his thoughts and prompted him to look ahead. It was true, the Grimm had disappeared from their sight and into an upcoming clearing.

They immediately all burst into the clearing with their weapons raised above their heads, or in Maxwell's case, his arrows drawn. What greeted them was an almost completely empty clearing, save for a few large boulders and tree trunks lying on the ground, apparently ripped out of the ground by the roots.

"Where'd it go?" As if on cue, the boulders and trees began gravitating toward one another. They began to stack and levitate on top of one another, forming long limbs of wood and stone. Soon, it finished forming its body and stood at its full height, towering over them and the tree tops.

Maxwell could hear the sounds of his companions begin to back away, and he joined them very quickly. For every few steps they took however, the amalgamation of rock and wood took one giant step toward them.

He sighed when he heard his companion's scream and start running away. "Well... shit."

* * *

There wasn't much that Blake thought could surprise her. From Grimm ripped straight out of old folklore to fanatic psychos who worshipped the Grimm and everything they did; she thought she'd seen everything the world could throw at her.

That was until girls started falling from the sky or riding in on the backs of Ursa.

Speaking of which. "Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?"

She could see her partners eye begin to twitch at everything happening, and she couldn't exactly blame her. After all, how else were you supposed to react when crazy things started happening? Honestly, at this point she honestly thought there was nothing else that could surprise her in this forest at this point-

The sound of trees being bowled over echoed throughout the clearing as a red-haired girl came running out of the woods with a Deathstalker right behind her. It swiped and snapped her claws at her, but she managed to evade its attacks just barely every time.

"Ruby" Blake turned her head to see her partner, Yang, shout in glee as her sister jumped down from the tree.

"Yang!"

"Nora!" Unfortunately for the sisters, the same girl who rode in on the Ursa decided to appear between them and shout her name.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Honestly, what was wrong with this forest? Scratch that, what was wrong with the rest of her fellow Hunters-in-training? Was this normal?

It was then she noticed how frustrated her partner must have been; clenched fists, twitching eyes, and tensed muscles were a dead give away.

"I can't take it anymore!" The air around her quite literally exploded in a ball of bright red fire, but Yang didn't seem phased by it at all. It was then she saw how her partners eyes had changed from their previous deep lilac color, to a burning red. "Could everyone just chill out for 2 seconds before something crazy happens again!?"

That was exactly how long it took before something else happened.

"Um... Yang?" Ruby pointed up towards the sky, and they could see the Schnee girl dangling on the talon of a giant Nevermore as it circled above them in the air. At the same time, the sounds of gunfire and trees being obliterated echoed from the forest. Soon after, three boys all emerged from the tree line frantically looking backwards.

Blake couldn't recognize two of them, but one of them was that boy who stopped the argument from last night.

"Hey, Maxwell, it's good to see you." Yang greeted. At least she wasn't stuck on the fact crazy things kept happening. "What's got you so-"

"Can't talk now; being chased by a stone and wood golem." Maxwell managed to say between his gasps for breath. The two boys following him were no better, just barely managing to stay on their feet from the looks of it.

"Wait wha-" Before Yang could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the blonde boy, Jaune, being crushed beneath the Schnee girl. At the same time, two boys were thrown from the forest and rolled to a stop right in front of the group. They were bruised and battered, but not so hurt that they couldn't fight. She supposed that armor they wore was good for something beyond appearances.

As Pyrrha landed in front of them, the 'golem' that Maxwell spoke of burst into the clearing and smashed down the trees in its way. The shrapnel of of the destroyed trees was sprayed all over the clearing, and it was only thanks to her own fast reflexes that she was able to avoid it. The others were also either fast enough, or out of their path, and avoided it.

"Great! The gangs all here, now we can die together." Why on Remnant her partner decided now was a good time to joke was beyond her, but she couldn't help cracking a small grin.

"Can I take a rain check on that?" Maxwell walked over to the pedestals and grabbed a random piece from them. "I've survived to much to die to whatever that thing is."

"Well our chances aren't exactly good right now." The blue-haired boy managed to pant out. "There's a giant Nevermore circling above, a Deathstalker getting closer by the second, and then that thing which doesn't seem to have even a dent in it."

"Our blades and bullets don't even scratch it." The blonde one told them all. "Only thing that even managed to slow it down was Cardin's mace."

"Yeah, and all that did was send cracks throughout its body." Cardin added. "After that, it wouldn't even let me get close to try it again."

"All of which means we're essentially screwed with other two Grimm." The green one stated. She couldn't really blame him for thinking that either; she didn't value their chances in a fight either.

Jaune stepped up and fidgeted in place. "Who says we have to fight? The relics are right here, so all we need to do is grab them and run as fast as we can back to the cliffs."

"What are you talking about?" Ruby exclaimed. "We're supposed to be Hunters; if w run away from these Grimm then how can we call ourselves that?"

"We won't be able to do anyone any good if we die fighting these titans." The blue haired boy responded.

"Whatever we decide to do, we should do it fast." Ren observed. "These Grimm are getting closer by the second."

"There are some ruins nearby." Maxwell stated. "Saw them as I was flying through the air. If we can manage to lure them there, we could use the debris to our advantage. If we're set on fighting that is."

That was a good idea. The ruins could be used for cover and to draw them in. It'd be very useful against that Nevermore as well, providing cover from its feathers and letting them draw it down to the ground. And if they had to, they could collapse the ruins on them as well and hope that did the job. Though that didn't get id of the risk; for all intents and purposes, going to the ruins put them in more risk than it did the Grimm.

"I say we go to the ruins." Blake finally said. "Even if we manage to lose the Deathstalker and golem Grimm, that Nevermore will track us all the way back to the cliff."

Everyone nodded at her advise and looked toward the slowly approaching Grimm. Why they weren't seizing this opportunity to attack was beyond her, but she was just thankful they weren't.

"Ok everyone, grab your relics if you haven't and let's go to the ruins." Cardin, the blonde boy, Jaune, and Ruby all grabbed the few remaining relics left and nodded at each other. "Now, follow me everyone!"

As Blake and everyone else ran after him toward the ruins, the only thought that crossed her mind was the hope that they weren't trampled to death before they made it.

* * *

"Most of the pairs have made it back, Ozpin." Glynda's voice broke him from his stupor and he spared her a glance. "However, seven have yet to make it back, and there are still two that have yet to pair up."

"Hmmm." Ozpin's gaze never left the forest below. He raised his mug to his lips and took a slow sip. "Who?"

"Maxwell and a boy called Silver." His faithful Deputy glanced down at the scroll in her hands. "Silver is currently wandering around the forest lost, and Maxwell is..." He gave her a moment to search through her scroll. "...he is currently being chased by a Nevermore, Deathstalker, and Geist while leading sixe of the seven pairs toward the ruins."

Silence resounded throughout the area and was only broken by Glynda. "Sir, should we send a Hunter after them? These three Grimm may be too powerful for them tofight at this stage in their training." At his silence, she snapped her fingers. "Sir?"

Ozpin shook his head. "No, they will be able to handle it." At her look of confusion, he let out a long sigh. "Who are the six pairs?"

"Let's see... Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, and Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long." Glynda blinked. "Why does this matter?"

"Every one of the names you said belong to the best firs year students we've seen in a long time." Ozpin told her.

"Some of them I can understand; the Schnee girl has her Glyphs, Ruby Rose has the eyes, Ms. Xiao Long was marked as one the best students at Signal, the Belladonna girl passed her exams with flying colors, and Ms. Nikos is a championship fighter." She conceded. "However, the rest of them I'm not so sure about, least of all this Arc boy."

"Just watch Glynda." He told her. "I think that what happens next will be a very enlightening surprise for you."

* * *

"Oooof!"

"Damn it Russel, don't just stand around!" The ground shook beneath him and he rose to his feet with a slow stumble. Russel managed to look around the ruins and catch glimpses of the others fighting across the ruins.

He could see the Nevermore circling above and launching barrages of its sharp feathers down upon them. It would swoop down and snap its beak at them, or attempt to snatch them up in its talons. When they attempted to climb on it, it would fly high into the air and spiral through the air to throw them off. Even attempting to establish sniper positions were foiled when it to fly by and smash through the ruins, sending all of them scattering.

The Deathstalker had pinned a small group of them against the wall, barely being kept at bay by the grenades and bullets of the students. That Golem was doing just as much damage to them as the other two, smashing down pillars and nearly crushing them beneath its limbs.

"Russel, you have any Dust left?" He turned his head and saw Cardin standing beside him, bruised, but still standing.

"Yeah, I've still got some left." He didn't see how it'd do any good though; most of the Dust's effects were completely ineffective. Fire didn't leave a mark on its stone body, electricity was the same, and wind was useless considering how damn heavy the thing was.

"Well, if you've got some ice Dust left and you can freeze in place, even for a moment, then I can get in a blow with my mace" Cardin told him. "Maybe I'll even be able to draw the Grimm out of those boulders and trees."

He gulped, but nodded regardless. "Ok, I just hope you actually can hit the damn thing." Now all he had to do was wait for the right moment, an opportunity that would let him get near the Grimm without being crushed. Easier said than done, but all he needed was one- there!

He broke out into a sprint, daggers at the ready and at his side. He could see Sky and Dove drawing its attention away from him, firing shot after shot at the only exposed piece of its body they could: its face. It swung its arm toward the two, but they managed to avoid it just barely by vaulting over it at just the right moment. Sky himself vaulted onto the limb with the pole of his halberd in a remarkable show of acrobatics. He started running along the limb, his halberd raised above his head, covered by the fact that Dove was still firing away at the Grimm's face. As he got close however, the creature snapped its arms in front of its face to block the bullets and sent Sky flying away. Raising his trunk arm, he swing it at Dove with an astounding amount of speed that he was just barely capable of dodging.

The pillar behind him was destroyed however, sending the rubble flying in all directions. Seizing this opportunity, Russel leapt onto the chunks of stone, leaping from one to another. As he landed on the last viable piece, he spun the revolvers on his daggers and dove forward. Just as the Grimm turned around, his daggers logged themselves in the cracks of its trunk leg. Soon after, ice began to quickly form itself around and encase the Grimm's leg, and by the time it stumbled forward he had already leapt away.

Before it could break out of the ice, it was suddenly launched backwards as Cardin leapt from the top of a ruined pillar and smashed his mace against its chest. He rolled to a stop just as the Grimm hit the ground, kicking up dust in its wake. In the distance, they could see that the others were doing just as well against the Deathstalker and Nevermore, pushing them back and wearing them down.

"So... did we kill it?" Just as Sky said that, the Grimm began to stir and shift. It rose back up to its full height as though nothing had even happened; the state of its body however told a completely different story than its behavior did. Cracks were spread throughout the entirety of the Grimm's body, chunks were entirely gone from the stone limbs and body, and its wooden arm was now simply a shattered stub.

"Damn it Sky." The frustration in Dove's voice was evident to all of them, and Russel had half a mind to punch the guy for jinxing them. The guilt on his face didn't exactly help.

"Ok, someone go get the others; this thing isn't going down without a lot more firepower than we have." Cardin ordered.

"But they're all dealing with the Deathstalker and Nevermore." He pointed out. " I doubt they're gonna stop fighting them to come help us."

Cardin sighed. "Well what about Maxwell? Where'd he disappear to?"

"He said something about providing sniper support for the others, but I don't think he's managed to do that all things considered." Needless to say, if he had managed to do that, the Nevermore would have attacked him immediately.

"Dove, go find him."

"Why me?"

"Because there's not much you can do to help us here besides acting as cannon fodder." Cardin told him. "Your both low on ammo and barely do any damage with it, and we've seen that blades are practically worthless against this thing."

"He's right." Russel agreed. "If you stayed you wouldn't be much help."

"Fine; try not to die while I'm gone." They all nodded in response at him, before they turned their attention back towards the Grimm. It had replaced the broken stump of an arm with pieces of the destroyed ruin, forming a rough and bulky arm that dragged along the ground as it stalked closer to them.

"So uh, what's the plan this time?" Sky's fear was evident, and though he'd never admit it, he felt the same. Despite their best efforts, this thing kept getting back up, taking everything they were capable of dishing out and fighting back with just as much fury. Were it not for the fact he knew it would chase after him and crush them, he'd have turned and run away as fast as he could.

Cardin grunted. "Let's try and draw it further into the ruins." He told them. "Maybe if we bury it beneath the rubble of one of these towers it'll finally stay down."

Oh he didn't like that. "So we're essentially just gonna run out in the open and hope it causes a tower to collapse on itself, while at the same time hoping we aren't crushed by either of them?"

"Pretty much."

"Fuck my life." He ran a hand down his face, before he nodded at the others. "Lead the way Cardin."

They all broke out into a sprint toward a crumbling tower in the distance. Behind them, Russel could feel the ground shake as the Grimm chased after them, and hear its make-shift legs pound against the dirt. They managed to reach the tower itself, but the Grimm was very close behind them. Russel leapt around its broad swings, spinning the revolvers on his dagger and back flipping away.

He held a small button along the shaft of his daggers and pointed them toward two large pieces of rubble not far away. He smirked and raised his daggers above his head, and at the same time he did this, the pieces of rubble began to rise off the ground and into the air.

"Ahhhh!" At the sound of Sky's scream, he didn't hesitate to launch the pieces of rubble at the Grimm. As they impacted it, they exploded into smaller pieces of rubble and sent it tumbling backwards through a small section of the ruined walls. Without missing a beat, he pointed his daggers toward Sky and jerked them backwards, pulling both him and his weapon towards Russel.

"You couldn't be a bit more gentle?" Sky grunted as he dusted himself off.

"I just used all of my wind Dust to pick up giant pieces of rubble, launch them at the Grimm, and then save you." Bastard could at least be a bit more grateful, especially since all of his Dust was now gone.

Cardin rolled to a stop in front of them. "Ugh... damn it, where're Dove and Maxwell?"

"I don't know, but let's hope they get here soon." Sky responded.

The Grimm started to move toward them with caution, not toward them but the building itself. It stepped carefully around the support of the tower, but still managed to stand at its full height and tower over them all.

It was only then Russel and everyone else noticed where exactly they.

"Son of a bitch." Cardin swore beneath his breath. "I can't believe we're trapped between this thing and a wall."

Russel gulped and closed his eyes as he saw the thing raise its arms toward them, and he could hear someone move behind him. He doubted it was Cardin, and despite the situation, he still wanted to hit Sky.

The next thing he heard wasn't the rush of the air as its arms rocketed toward them, nor was it the screams of pain of his partner or Sky. Instead, it was the sound of something exploding and sending the Grimm backwards.

He opened his eyes and saw the Grimm in a kneeling position, its body more cracked and destroyed than before. Russel looked around to see who did that, expecting one of the others that were fighting the Deathstalker or Nevermore to have finished and come save them. Instead, it was Maxwell and Dove, rushing towards them.

"You guys ok?" Dove asked them all with a slight expression of worry.

"Yeah, we're fine." Cardin told him with a nod. "Thanks for the assist Maxwell; now do you have a plan for killing that thing?"

"Same one Dove told me you have; crush it beneath this tower." Maxwell gestured toward the rising Grimm. "We need to fool it into destroying a major portion of the towers walls. Russel and I will do that, the rest of you just need to make sure it stays inside the tower until then."

They all nodded. It was as good a plan as any in Russel's mind, far better than them just winging it and hoping something caused the tower to collapse, which was exactly what he had been doing before Maxwell and Dove arrived.

When he saw Maxwell sprint toward the Grimm, firing an arrow at the body of it, Russel sprinted after him. At this point, he could feel the exhaustion of this fight throughout his body, the way his muscles were strained and his legs burned with every step. The Grimm raised its arm to block the arrow, but when it lodged itself in the cracks, it didn't expect it to exploded in a ball of fire and shrapnel that sprayed the area. It stood at its full height and sprinted towards them, boulder arm raised above its head in preparation to strike.

"Dodge!" Russel didn't hesitate to listen, leaping aside as the Grimm's arm smashed through the wall and obliterating it. The tower shook around them, and sections of what was left of the roof began to collapse, falling to the ground and impacting the ground, or in the case of the Grimm, slamming into it and causing it to collapse onto its back.

He didn't even wait to see if the Grimm would get up again or leave the ruins, sprinting out of the collapsing ruins as fast as his legs would carry him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Maxwell doing the same, running ahead of him as fast as he probably could.

He collapsed to the ground as he finally made it out of the vicinity of the now destroyed tower, panting and staring up into the bright blue sky. Despite this pain though, he was ecstatic; they'd finally managed to kill that thing, and in such an epic way that would make him and the others the envy of the entire school. Except for those who were fighting the Nevermore and Deathstalker. Chances were they'd be just as famous.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." At Cardin's voice, he didn't even want to look up. He did though, and saw a shadowy ghost-like Grimm rise out of the rubble. It turned to flee, but before it could even get a meter away from the rubble, an arrow embedded itself through the back of the Grimm's head.

"Now it's dead." He heard Maxwell say. "Now, let's go meet the others and get back to the cliffs; I'd rather not be out here when night falls."

Russel couldn't agree more with that statement.

* * *

"-from this day forward you shall be known as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose."

Maxwell clapped along with everyone else as the four girls were finally given a team name. He couldn't think of a better made team; from what he'd seen during their three-way fight against the Nevermore, Deathstalker, and Geist as it was called, their skills complimented each other almost perfectly. Only problem that could get in their way of being the best team at Beacon was their own personal issues.

When he saw them all walk off the stage he walked forward. He noticed that he was alone up here, with no one else here with him. ' _I get the feeling I'm no gonna have a team of my own.'_

"Maxwell Trevelyan; you retrieved the black pawn piece." Ozpin began. "Unfortunately, three of our potential students were unable to retrieve their pieces or find a partner. As such, I believe there is only one way to handle your special situation."

The board above in the auditorium changed to that of a wheel. There were symbols scattered across it, ranging from a ruby, to a fruit, to a bird. This all gave away what was going to happen.

"We shall let this board decide what team you shall be on, for the time being; once we are able to find people who meet our expectations, you shall be placed on that team with them." Maxwell nodded at the explanations to signify he understood, before turning his eyes to the board.

He saw the holographic wheel spin, and for nearly an entire minute it showed no signs of stopping. As it began to slow down however, he could feel the tension in the air as everyone waited for the wheel to stop. He couldn't understand why everyone was so quiet about this, but he wouldn't say anything.

The wheel stopped on the image of the bird. "And so, for the time being, Maxwell Trevelyan shall be placed on team Cardinal until further notice."

As he walked off stage and his temporary teammates greeted him with smiles and pats on the back, only one thought crossed his mind.

How long was he gonna be here?

* * *

 **Authors Note: And we're done. What'd you guys think? I hope you all enjoyed it.**

 **Now, I love this outcome for what team Maxwell if placed on because of the potential both they have, and for what the story can do with them. Now, I hope you enjoy what I'll do with them, and if you have any suggestions or questions, leave a review and I'll be happy to consider and address them.**

 **Also, as a side note on Russel's usage of Dust, I can't exactly remember an instance of Wind Dust being used in combat so I just decided to wing it and use it in a very simple way for now.**

 **Anyway, don't forget to favorite, follow, and leave a review. I'll see you guys next time.**


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